Number Thirty Seven
by Rikku-Hoshi
Summary: When Yuna goes on an unwanted date to a blitzball game, she wins a signed jersey from one of the players. Just how far will she go to be with the owner of that jersey?
1. The Unwanted Date

Hello everybody! Oh wow...What is this, my SECOND story since I officially declared that I was done with fanfiction? Well, I've been gone for a long time, but now I am back! This story is going to be a fairly short one. Basically, we're nearing the end of the hockey season, and I've found that I've grown quite obsessed with hockey (college hockey, that is. ;) and I just had to do something to keep myself sane, so here is this story! I can't promise that I'll finish it, but I'll try. And if I do finish it, maybe I'll tell you the importance of the number 37! But until then, you'll just have to read! I hope you enjoy this story!

Chapter 1: The Unwanted Date

"I told Baralai that he could take you to the blitzball game."

Yuna swallowed, and then looked up at her father. He hadn't moved from his spot, and he wasn't even looking at her. He was instead looking at the newspaper that was in his hands.

"What?" Yuna questioned, "You hate blitzball. Besides…What blitzball game?"

"The one over at the college," Braska said, "The University of Bevelle Basilisks, or whatever they're called."

Yuna leaned back in her chair, and sighed, and said, "…But Baralai and I have nothing in common."

It was true. Baralai was her father's co-worker's son, and already said to be a definite future Maester of Spira. Not that Yuna had any care in future Maesters, but being that her father was a current Maester, it seemed like a natural hook-up.

"Baralai asked for my permission to take you to the game," Braska continued, "Apparently the team is very good."

"But you hate blitzball," Yuna said again.

"True," Braska said, "But it would be good for you to get out."

"But Baralai and I—," she was going to say that Baralai and her had nothing in common once more, but her father cut her off.

"Baralai's father has a special box. The two of them usually go together, but his father will be out of town. So Baralai asked if you would be interested in going, and I told him that I thought you would love that."

Yuna sighed. It was true. She would love to go to the blitzball game, especially since her father had told her that she was never to go to a 'filthy blitzball game'.

"It's tomorrow night," her father continued, "At seven. I hope you had no other plans."

She didn't. Yuna was a student at St. Maechan's School, a little all-girls private school located on the very southern edge of Bevelle, which was just south of Bevelle's political hub, and only seconds away from the temple of Yevon. St. Maechan's was by far the most prestigious school in all of Spira, where everybody was guaranteed to be someone when they came out of it.

To Yuna though, it was horridly boring. She was a sophomore, and found she had no friends at her school. She had started out by living in the dorms, but simply couldn't take the girls that went to that school. So, she had returned home her sophomore year to live there, and drove to school every day for classes. It was more peaceful that way, and allowed her to visit friends from high school.

However, it also allowed her father to keep a better eye on her. Even so, St. Maechan's was far more strict than her father could ever be.

Yuna excused herself from the table and went to her room, where she immediately shut the door, threw herself on her bed, and picked up her phone.

"Well Rikku, he did it again," Yuna said as soon as she heard her cousin's "Hello?"

"Another date?" Rikku said, laughing, "Where is it at this time?"

"A blitzball game," Yuna said, "Which is actually kind of exciting."

"A blitzball game?" Rikku questioned, "You mean a Basilisks game? Tomorrow? Yunie, I'll be there too!"

Rikku went to the University of Bevelle. Mostly all college-aged students except for the select few that went to St. Maechans' and St. Zaon—which was the boy version of St. Maechan's, and where Baralai went—attended school at the University of Bevelle. It was one of the largest public schools in all of Spira.

"These games are so amazing," Rikku chirped, "Like, there's never a dull moment! Last week, the cheerleaders did this ten minute long half-time dance, and these drunk guys broke into the sphere and security had to pull them back. I was laughing so hard! And, I totally know someone on the team!"

"You know someone on the team?" Yuna asked, "Are they just college guys?"

"Yeah, just college guys," Rikku said, "But they're really good. This one guy is so good that he's going to be drafted onto a professional team next year. They would take him now, but you have to be at least twenty, and he's only nineteen. Anyway though, I know this guy named Gippal. He's the only Al Bhed on the team. I met him in one of my classes."

"Will there be a lot of students?" Yuna asked.

"Yeah, it's always sold out," Rikku explained, "But there are a lot of other people that go there."

"I guess Baralai has really good seats."

"He does!" Rikku said loudly, "I've seen him before. He has a private box and everything! The best seats in the house by far!"

"Well, I guess at least the game will be exciting," Yuna said, rolling her eyes, "Far more exciting than the time my father sent us off to the zoo."

"Seriously, what's his deal?" Rikku questioned, although she knew the answer, "Baralai and you are as different as night and day."

Yuna let out a sigh and said, "Yeah, but since when do I have any control over my life?"

"Ooh, feeling rebellious Yunie?" Rikku asked and giggled, "Ditch Baralai and come sit with the students! We're more fun!"

"Yeah, but chances are the game will be televised," Yuna said with a yawn, "So I'd better just stay with Baralai. I'll just have to try to pay more attention to the game than to him."

"Yeah!" Rikku said, "Maybe you can say you have to pee and come visit me!"

"Yeah, I'll have to," Yuna said, "Anyway, I better let you go before my dad comes and tells me to get off of the phone."

"Right," Rikku said, "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yup!" Rikku said, "See ya Yunie!"

With a click, Rikku hung up, and Yuna swiftly followed suit.

Then, she laid back against the pillows of her bed and closed her eyes. The next night was going to be a long one.

-

Yuna stepped into the cold air, just as Baralai pulled up. She had been waiting for him forever, it seemed, as her father had told her to prepare for his arrival far in advance. Yuna rolled her eyes, wondering if Baralai felt as she did. Really, she wanted to ask him. She wanted to say, "So, what do you think of our parents always trying to force us to be together?" Of course, she couldn't.

He jumped out of his car—the gentleman that he was—and went to open to door for her. This simply annoyed her though. Why did he try so hard? Was he willing to give into his parents' wishes and marry her?

"Thanks," Yuna just said, attempting to be polite, and she took her seat in his car. It was nice, actually, being in his car, for it was quite chilly outside. It had snowed just the day before, and Yuna was happy to find any warmth she could.

It was awkward, however, for neither of the two knew what to say to the other. This was their fourth—no, fifth—'date'. And besides their dates, there were plenty of family dinners together and whatnot. This had been going on since Yuna was seventeen, and she was now nineteen. Baralai was twenty, and junior at St. Zaon, majoring in some sort of Yevon Studies with a minor in some sort of political science.

"So, do you like blitzball?" Baralai asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes," Yuna replied, "But I don't watch it very often."

"Ah, you're missing out," Baralai said, "The college team here is really quite good. A talented bunch, really. They've been unbeaten now for the last eight games."

"Sounds cool," Yuna said, looking out the window.

"We're playing our rivals tonight, so it should be a good game," Baralai said, "You know, my father has the best seats in the house."

"That's nice," Yuna said, tired of the small chat, but unable to stop it, "Who are we playing?"

"Luca University," Baralai said, "It's going to be a really good game. They've been unbeaten now for some time too, so no one wants to win. But our record's better, so we should be able to take them down."

Silence followed once more, and the two rode in silence, not saying anything to the other.

They finally arrived at the University of Bevelle Arena, a place Yuna realized she had never been to before.

"Wow, it's huge!" Yuna said, as they stepped out of Baralai's car. Unlike the college students, Baralai had a special parking place, right next to the arena.

Baralai nodded, and said, "When my grandfather died, he donated a lot of money to it. There's even marble floors in the bathroom!"

"That's pretty impressive, for a blitzball arena," Yuna said, as she stepped back into the cold winter air.

Baralai blushed then, and said, "You look very nice, Yuna."

Yuna wanted to scoff at him. She hadn't done anything special. She just had on her long red coat and jeans. Her hair was just down, and her makeup simple. Why did he try so hard?

"Thanks," she just said, and attempted to walk ahead of him, even though she had no idea where she was going.

"This way, Yuna," Baralai said. They walked into the arena then. Yuna's eyes lit up as they entered. The place was indeed huge, and they weren't even to the actual part of the stadium.

University students were all around, clad head-to-toe in Basilisk gear, screaming at the top of their lungs.

"It's going to be a sold-out game," Baralai said, "The stands will be packed."

Baralai then led Yuna into an elevator, where they rode to the second floor. From there security stopped them, but then of course let them through, and to Baralai's box they went.

"Wow, this is incredible!" Yuna said, and she went straight to the window, "I can't believe how huge it is!"

"It can seat twenty thousand people," Baralai explained, "And it has seated that many people many times. These games are very popular, as I'm sure you know. I can't believe you've never been here before."

Yuna sighed, and said, "My father hates blitzball. He never said why, but he does. So he never lets me watch it."

"That's terrible," Baralai said, "It's a great sport. Plus, all of his colleagues love it. I wonder why he hates it so?"

Yuna took a seat as close the window as she could, and Baralai too, right next to her, much to her dismay.

Yuna simply focused her attention outside the window toward the sphere pool.

It wasn't that she didn't like Baralai. He was a nice enough guy and all, and he wasn't ugly or anything. It was more that she was tired of being forced into dates with him. Her first date with him, the day after her seventeenth birthday, had been a trip to the zoo that had ended in disaster.

Basically, Baralai thought it would be fun to go into the monkey house, only to have the monkeys attack them. Yuna arrived home covered in monkey pooh and very upset. Even after a long soak in the bathtub she had been unable to get the smell out of her nose. Somehow, Baralai thought it had been a good date.

Suddenly, the crowd began to scream and cheer and jump up and down. The lights went out then, and a platform above the pool became apparent. Out came cheerleaders, who began a dance. Laser lights went every which way, shining into the faces of the screaming fans.

"And now," an announcer's voice boomed, "Welcome your U of B Basilisks!"

The crowd went even wilder, and out swam the team, seemingly glowing in the dark water beneath them.

Yuna leaned out the winder, staring at the players as they swam quickly by. Rikku and Baralai were both right—she did have the best seats in the house by far.

The crowd continued to go wild for a good five minutes, as the blitzers continued to swim around. Yuna figured the players would be tired out before they even got the chance to start playing.

All of them were wearing uniforms with numbers and names on the back, and the team had a good thirty-some members.

The other team came out then, which caused the crowd to begin booing. Yuna found herself looking not at the pool, but instead in the stands, wondering where Rikku was. Of course, it was impossible to sort through twenty thousand people.

The game then began, with the Basilisks getting a hold of the ball first.

"Isn't this incredible?" Baralai asked, leaning forward along with Yuna, "And when the Basilisks score, fireworks go off. I've traveled to a lot of the away games, and none of the arenas are as nice as this one."

"It is rather nice," Yuna admitted, and then she bit her lip nervously, and said, "Do you mind if I go and try to find my cousin, Rikku?"

"Your cousin?" Baralai asked, "But you'll miss the game!"

"I know," Yuna said, "But it's been a long time since I saw her."

"The Al Bhed?" Baralai asked, "You know, our team only has one Al Bhed on it…"

"I know, Rikku knows him," Yuna said, "What was his name…Gippal or something like that?"

"Yeah," Baralai said, nodding toward the sphere, "He's a defender, number twenty-four, right there."

Yuna looked out the window, just in time to see number twenty-four slam a guy hard and take control of the ball.

"He's crazily aggressive," Baralai explained, "He's a fun guy to watch."

Yuna looked at Baralai, who was intensely watching the game. Was he trying to keep her from leaving him?

"That's really nice," Yuna said, "Um, I'm going to go look for Rikku now…"

She stood up, and started toward the door, when Baralai said, "Wait, Yuna!"

She turned around and noticed he was standing, watching her perhaps more intently than he had just been watching the game.

"Yes?" Yuna asked him.

"Yuna, I know you don't want to be here with me," Baralai said, "I understand that. But I…I really want to be here with you. Even against what my father or what your father say. I…I really like you, Yuna."

Yuna didn't know how to react to the words that had just come out of his mouth. He was acting incredibly sheepish, blushing a deep crimson color, but she had to give him credit: the guy had guts.

Yuna let out yet another sigh, and said, "Baralai, I…I just…" The truth was, she had no idea what to say.

"Just give me a chance," Baralai said, and then, as if remembering their previous dates, added, "Just give me another chance. I really want to prove myself to you, Yuna."

Yuna bit her lip in thought, and said, "I'm just so tired of my father setting up dates with you. Or your father setting up dates, or whatever."

"They didn't set it up this time," Baralai said, "It was my idea to take you to the game. Believe me, if your father hates blitzball as much as you say he does, he probably wouldn't have allowed me to take you, even if it was a set up."

"Well, I…" Yuna trailed. This was far more awkward than any other time.

Suddenly, the crowd below them began to scream wildly, and the noise of fireworks began to go off and music began to play loudly.

"They must have scored!" Baralai said, and he rushed the window, "Yup, looks like we got a goal. I wonder who scored?"

Yuna couldn't help but go back to the window, where she saw the crowd dancing along with the cheerleaders, and the blitzers swam wildly in circles, while the other team scowled.

"And tonight," the announcer's voice then boomed, after he shouted about the goal, "is the night we give away the jersey you've all been waiting for…NUMBER THIRTY-SEVEN!"

With that, the crowd began to make even more noise than they had when the team scored. Yuna noticed that it was mostly the sound of girls shrieking.

"Number thirty-seven?" Yuna asked, "What's so special about that? The crowd wants that more than the goal!"

"Oh, that's the jersey of the star player," Baralai said, "You see, every night, they randomly draw a seat number and that person gets the jersey. Tonight is the last night, and they're giving away number thirty-seven. Most of the girls think that guy's really good looking, so they want the jersey."

"How good is he?" Yuna asked, trying to spot that number.

"He's definitely the best in the league," Baralai said, "He's already signed with the best team in Spira, and next year, he'll be gone. He'd be gone now, but he's too young. He'll be the first twenty-year-old to go straight to the pros."

"So I suppose there probably is a lot of hype about that jersey then, huh?"

"Yeah, and he himself will present it to the winner, and autograph it. It's a big deal. Everybody here wants to get their hands on it."

"Even you?"

"Nah, I don't need that thing," Baralai said, "If I won it, I would just sell my ticket to some crazy fan who wants a one-night stand with that player or something. Because that's the kind of thing that guy does. He's bad news."

Yuna didn't say anything. She just laid her head in her hands and watched the game, wondering what she was going to do.

Soon, the first half was over, with the score still being one to nothing, in favor of the Basilisks.

"Things are going to start getting ugly," Baralai explained, "Luca is known for its cheating. They'll start punching and whatnot."

"I see," Yuna said, "It's halftime—why aren't people going to get a snack or something?"

No one had left their seats, and they were all murmuring about something or other.

"Oh, this is when they announce the winner of the jersey," Baralai explained, "They should be announcing it at any time now."

At that, the announcer's voice once again boomed over the arena, as he yelled, "Who's ready?"

The crowd went wild, jumping up and down.

"And the winner is…" the announcer boomed, "Seat 42B!"

The crowd went wild once more, looking every which way, as if trying to spot the winner.

"That can't be," Baralai said, softly.

"What do you mean?" Yuna asked, "Who is it?"

"Look at your ticket," Baralai said, "It's you."

Yuna looked at him as if he were crazy, and then went to her coat, where she had stuck her ticket stub. Sure enough, in large bold print, was "42B".


	2. The Unwanted Jersey

Thank you everybody for your reviews! I'm glad you find this story to be something original! It is rather original isn't it...Heh, since it's based off of some real life experiences and some not-so real life experiences. ;) So anyway, I'm going to attempt to update every other day or so, because I don't want this story to drag on too long. So it should be a nice, entertaining read. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Unwanted Jersey

Yuna and Baralai stared at each other for some time, and then Yuna looked back at her ticket stub. Was it really her?

She looked up then, only to see her face on the huge screen that hung above the pool.

Yuna then felt a million faces on her, and she immediately turned red.

"Congratulations to our winner!" the announcer cried, "Come pick up your jersey at the end of the game!"

The lights then went out and the cheerleaders began their halftime show, but Yuna was too in shock to watch. Baralai seemed to be in shock too, for he said nothing.

"Well, it's yours," Yuna said, handing him the ticket, "It's your ticket, after all."

"They won't give it to me though," Baralai said, "Now that they've seen you on the screen, they'll just give it to you. In fact, someone should be here soon to escort you to the room where you'll get the jersey. Some crazy girls are going to want to attack you."

"Seriously?" Yuna asked, "Just over some jersey?"

"Yeah," Baralai said, and he let out a laugh, "Out of all of the crazy fans, I can't believe it was you that won it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuna asked him.

"Nothing," Baralai said, "Don't take it the wrong way. It's just, you didn't even know who this guy was until tonight. And now you'll be taking home this jersey, without even understanding its worth. There will be people offering you huge amounts of gil for that jersey."

Baralai was then cut off as Yuna's phone went off. She picked it up, noticing that it was Rikku who was calling.

"Oh my Yevon Yunie, did you just win that jersey?" it was indeed her cousin.

"Yeah, I guess so," Yuna said.

"You guess so? Yunie, do you realize how big a deal this is? This is _the_ jersey! Everyone in this entire place would sell their souls for that jersey, including me! I am so horridly jealous of you right now!"

Yuna was still staring at her ticket, and she realized that Baralai was staring at her, watching her intently. She sighed, remembering the earlier conversation that had occurred between the two.

"Well, I don't understand the big deal," Yuna said, shrugging, as if Rikku could see her.

"The big deal, Yunie, is that that jersey could be worth loads and loads of money. And you get to get it autographed and everything!"

"Rikku, I should go," Yuna said.

"Oh, that's right, you're with Baralai, aren't you?" Rikku asked, loudly, so Yuna was sure Baralai could probably hear, "How's that goin' for ya?"

"It's fine, Rikku. Goodbye."

"Wait—!" Yuna hung up before Rikku could finish talking.

The game must have started at exactly that moment as well, for the crowd began to cheer, momentarily forgetting that they weren't the winners of the jersey.

"I'm going to call down and find out why you're the one that won the jersey," Baralai said, as soon as Yuna turned her attention to him.

"What's the big deal?" Yuna just asked, and exasperated, fell back down into her chair, "It's just a smelly old jersey that some guy wears."

"Sell it then," Baralai said, sitting down next to her, "I bet anybody here would pay a fortune for it. Go ahead, try and sell it! Just sell your ticket stub."

"Alright, I'll do just that," Yuna said, surely, "In fact, I'll go right now."

"Well, maybe that's not such a good idea," Baralai said, softly, "You probably won't get the best deal here. If you go and get the jersey, I bet a business would buy the jersey from you for a huge sum. Just wait."

"So I should go and get the jersey?" Yuna asked, "What do I do?"

"Basically," Baralai explained, "An escort will be here, and they'll take you down to the main floor. I think you'll have to wait a half an hour or so after the game, and then the player comes out and gives you his jersey. He signs it, and then that's it."

"Okay," Yuna said, nodding, "But what if I don't want it?"

"You want it," Baralai said, "It's yours."

"But it's your ticket!" Yuna said, "Shouldn't you get it?"

Baralai shrugged, and said, "Consider it a reminder of this game, a gift from me."

Yuna didn't know how to respond to that, so she focused her attention back to the game.

"They're having a rough time," Baralai said, nodding to the pool, "They're still only leading by one to nothing. I think they're getting tired. You know, it was number thirty-seven that made that goal."

"Really?" Yuna asked, and she found that her eyes were scanning the pool, searching for number thirty-seven. Sure enough, her eyes found him.

It was hard to tell what he looked like, but he didn't appear very old. She recalled then that he was only nineteen, the same age as she.

Baralai was right though; it appeared indeed as if the team were struggling.

"Luca is a good team," Baralai explained, "But we should definitely be able to take them."

"How often do you watch blitzball?" Yuna asked, realizing that he seemed to know a lot about it.

"My father and I have always watched it," he explained, "I've been coming to these seats for as long as I can remember. We also go to a lot of the away games—you know, sort of like a mini vacation every weekend."

"I see," Yuna said, "So where is this team off to next week?"

"They're home again," Baralai said, "We'll play Kilika next week. That school's so small, and their team so bad though that that game will be an embarrassment. And the week after that, we're off to Zanarkand, which will be our toughest game yet."

"Are you going to the Zanarkand game?" Yuna questioned.

"Probably not, but there's always a fan bus," Baralai said.

The crowd began to make a bunch of booing noises, and Yuna looked at the scoreboard, figuring the other team had scored, but they hadn't.

"What's going on now? Yuna asked.

"Oh, we got a penalty," Baralai said, "One of our guys did something illegal…Looks like he held him, which means he grabbed onto his uniform to pull him back, which is something you can't do. There aren't very many things you can't do in blitzball, but that is one of them. So now we're a man down."

"So we're playing four-on-five?" Yuna asked.

"Yeah," Baralai said, "So we have the disadvantage."

The kick-off started, and Bevelle's team managed to get a hold of the ball. Yuna's eyes quickly found player number thirty-seven. He had the ball and was swimming fast, toward the opposite goal, while the rest of his team hung back.

"Why are they hanging back?" Yuna asked, "Why don't they help him?"

"Because," Baralai said, "We need to protect our net."

Before he could even finish speaking, player number thirty-seven darted around the other team's defense, and right around the goalie, making an easy goal on the open net.

The crowd went wild, but Yuna couldn't take her eyes off that player. How swiftly he had moved! It was him versus the entire team, and yet he had managed to get around not only the defense, but the goalie as well.

"That's called a short-handed goal!" Baralai said, obviously excited about the goal, "He's tied with the school record for them—although I guess he's broken it now!"

The game continued then, with Bevelle ahead two to zero. Time was running out, as well.

"You know," Baralai said as soon as the crowd hushed somewhat, "There's a second game against Luca tomorrow. Would you like to come with?"

Yuna looked at him, and realized that she honestly didn't know. She was actually rather enjoying the game.

"Um, I don't know," Yuna said, "I suppose I could."

Baralai smiled, and said, "Really? I can pick you up at the same time!"

Yuna didn't say anything, but rather focused her attention on the game. There were only a few minutes left, and it didn't seem as if Luca would get another goal. All Yuna could do though was play the goal she had just witnessed over and over in her head. How could he move that smoothly?

There was a knock on the door to their box then, and Baralai stood to answer it.

"Hello," a small, nervous looking man said, "I'm here to escort the jersey winner to the ceremonial hall."

"Oh, yeah," Baralai said, "Yuna, come on, we've got to go."

Yuna stood up and walked to the door. Baralai held it open for her, and she followed the man out, and then Baralai followed her.

The three made their way down a staircase that was labeled "Employees Only", and into a very open space.

"Wait here," the man said, and then he disappeared.

Yuna took a seat on the bench that the man had motioned to, and Baralai took a seat next to her.

"This must be near the locker rooms," Baralai mused, "I'm surprised they let us down here."

"I wish we could have finished watching the game," Yuna said, sighing, "I was rather enjoying it."

"Don't worry," Baralai said, "We have tomorrow to watch it. It should be _really _exciting tomorrow."

Yuna simply nodded. The two waited in silence for a few minutes, and they heard a loud buzzing sound go off above them, as well as cheers from fans.

"The game must be over," Baralai said, "Sounds like we won."

The man returned then, and said, "Please, come with me."

Yuna stood up, as did Baralai. However, the man turned to Baralai, and said, "Please wait here, Sir."

Baralai looked at him as if he were going to say something, but then sighed and turned to Yuna, and said, "I'll meet you out front, alright?"

"Okay," Yuna said, and she then followed the man.

The man led her to an even larger open space that resembled a banquet hall. Only it was one of the largest banquet halls Yuna had ever been in.

"He should be right out," the man said, "Would you mind if I searched your handbag?"

"No, of course not," Yuna said, handing over her purse. The man searched through it quickly, and then handed it back to her.

"He's going to be very tired," the man explained, "From the long game, so please try to keep this meeting session quickly. You may not video tape, but you may take a picture. However, you may not sell the pictures, but only use them for your personal use."

Yuna cocked her head to the side. Was there really _that _much to a simple blitzball player?

"Alright," the man said then, after spewing out a few other rules, "I just received word that he's on his way."

How he'd heard word, Yuna had no idea, but she simply nodded, and continued to stand there. The man left, leaving Yuna completely alone.

To Yuna's surprise, she realized that she was feeling rather nervous. Perhaps she was worried that she wouldn't be able to find Baralai after this little meet-up. Or perhaps she was afraid that she would get attacked by the so-called crazy fans. Or perhaps, she really was frightened to meet some guy she had never met before, who was apparently a big deal.

Suddenly, the doors opened, clear across the room, and Yuna found she was having difficulty breathing. Why was she so nervous.

In stepped what appeared to be a normal guy. The only thing abnormal about him was that he was clad in a suit with his hair dripping wet, and had a jersey outstretched in front of him, as it was also wet.

He was looking at the jersey disdainfully, and not at her, but he walked forward anyway.

Was that him? Yuna tried to remember what he had looked like, but she hadn't really gotten a good glimpse.

He finally looked at her, causing her to let out a silent gasp. His eyes met hers, and she felt herself blush—that's right, blush. Why was she blushing?

His eyes were a gorgeous crystal blue unlike anything she had ever seen. Her first thought was that he wore contacts, but she knew that couldn't be. Blitzball players couldn't wear contacts for one thing, and besides that, those eyes were so blue that there couldn't possibly be a contact that could create that color.

He stopped a few feet in front of her, and gave her a smile that she took to be a cheeky one, but her heart began to speed even more at the sight of that smile.

"Sorry it's so wet," he said, "I was trying to blow-dry it quick with a friend's blow-dryer, but it didn't really work."

Yuna didn't say anything. She just stood there, staring at him.

"It's going to be hard to sign," he continued, "Since it's wet, but I think we'll manage."

With that, he pulled out a pen, and said, "Where do you want it signed?"

Yuna's mind was racing. Over and over, she was attempting to convince herself _"He's just a normal college guy. He's just a normal college guy…"_, but for some reason, she couldn't seem to convince herself. She seemed star-struck.

He was waiting for her answer, so Yuna snapped out of her trance and said, "I-It doesn't matter. Wherever."

He looked at the jersey thoughtfully then for a long time, before turning it to the front and signing between the 'Bevelle' and 'Basilisks'.

_"Tidus 37" _Yuna realized it read. So his name was Tidus?

"There you go," he said, handing her the wet jersey. She took it carefully in her hands as if it were the most delicate thing ever.

"Want a picture?" he asked her then. She had no idea if she wanted one or not, but she did just so happen to have her camera.

She pulled it out of her purse, and to her surprise, Tidus snatched it before she could even turn it on. He had it turned on in a flash, and then leaned in very close to her, putting his arm around her.

"Sorry if I smell," he said, "You wouldn't think you could sweat in water, but with blitz, you sweat like a pig."

He pulled her into him then, and snapped a picture, self-portrait style. Yuna seemed to shocked to move.

He took his arm from around her and looked at the picture, and smiled at her, and handed her the camera.

"I'm pretty much an expert at that," he said, flashing her a silly grin, "I practice in my spare time. But you're not smiling. Here, we'll take another one."

Again, he wrapped his arm around her, pulled her close, and snapped another one.

"Still no smile," he mused to himself, "Want me to count?"

Yuna wanted to say that she didn't really care, but to her realization, she realized that she wouldn't have minded if he took a million pictures of them, for once again, he wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her close. Only this time, he said, "one…two…three…BLITZ!" Yuna managed to somewhat smile, and as he looked at it, he said, "There, that's better," and handed her the camera.

Yuna's mind continued to run. Should she say something to him? He seemed to be doing a lot of the talking. She couldn't even remember if she had said anything to him. Why was she acting so dumb?

"So did you like the game?" Tidus asked, as Yuna tucked the camera into her purse without looking at the pictures.

"Yeah," Yuna managed to say, "Um…Good job."

"Thanks," Tidus said, throwing his head back as he said it, "That was a hell o' a goal I had, huh?"  
It was. Yuna's mind flashed back to his goal, and her heart once more began to pound. She couldn't manage to say anything though.

Finally, he let out a laugh, and patted her on the head, a movement that really shocked her.

"Heh, gotta love girls like you," he said, "Too shy to say anything. What are you, seventeen?"

"Um, nineteen, actually," Yuna managed.

"Seriously?" Tidus said, laughing to himself, "Do you go to the U of B then?"

"No, I got to St. Maechan's," Yuna responded.

"What's that?" Tidus asked, looking dumfounded.

It was Yuna who felt dumbfounded. How had he not heard of St. Maechan's?

"It's a college," Yuna said, slowly, unsure of whether he was joking or not.

"What, a technical school?"

Was he serious?

"It's a school for…Well, it's basically one of the top private schools in Spira," Yuna finally managed.

"Oh, okay," Tidus said then, and he looked toward the door, as if he wanted to leave. He looked back at her though, and asked, "What year are you?"

"I'm a sophomore," Yuna replied.

"Yeah, me too," Tidus said, "But I'm not really supposed to be. I skipped a year of high school. Not that it matters…"

Was there a reason he was spewing out his entire life story? Yuna began to shift uncomfortably, for she had no idea what to do. Perhaps if she could act normal, things would be great.

"Did you come here by yourself?" Tidus asked her then.

Wasn't she supposed to be the one that got to ask him questions, not the other way around? Yuna sighed, and said, "No."

"Oh, did you come with friends?" Tidus asked.

"You could say that," Yuna replied.

"I see," again Tidus looked at the door. If he wanted to leave, what was he waiting for? Yuna looked around as a bit of awkward silence settled in. Was something supposed to happen? Did the small man have to come back in before Tidus could leave.

To her surprise, Tidus looked at her, and said in a soft voice, "You know, we can go back to my place if you want."

"What?" Yuna asked, taken aback. Had he just asked her to his place?

Tidus laughed, and said, "Don't act so shocked. That's what you want, isn't it?"

"No," Yuna said, shaking her head.

Tidus laughed again, and rolled his eyes, and said, "Alright, suit yourself. You would've been my first pick, but oh well. There's plenty more."

Yuna's face scrunched in disgust. What?

"Alright then," Tidus said, "If you're sure…Well, enjoy the jersey!"

He waved to her then, and walked off, back toward the door he had entered, leaving Yuna all by herself, still holding the jersey in her hand.

She stared at the door that he had exited into for quite some time, before finally shaking her head and turning around, heading back toward where she had come from to find Baralai. Even so, she couldn't seem to get a certain pair of blue eyes out of her head.


	3. The Unwanted Crush

Thanks once again for all of the reviews! They really made me happy! I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Oh, and do you guys want me to reply to your reviews :)? I'm so used to not being able to do that, so I forget that replying is an option! Well, anyway, here is chapter three, and chapter four should be out on Sunday, I hope! Enjoy!

Chapter 3: The Unwanted Crush

"I still can't believe you won that jersey," Baralai said, shaking his head. They were almost back to Yuna's house, and the jersey was safely stored in the back seat, although Baralai had a fit about the wet jersey being on his leather seats.

"Me neither," Yuna said, and she really couldn't believe it.

"…So are you going to come tomorrow?" Baralai asked, slowly, as if he was uncertain whether or not to ask it.

"Yeah," Yuna said, and for some reason smiled, "I'd really like to go."

"O-Okay," Baralai said, "I'll pick you up at the same time. Do you want to go and get something to eat afterward?"

"Sure," Yuna found herself saying. She didn't know why, but for the first time in quite a while, she felt as if she were soaring high in the sky. Anything was possible. She had spent most of the night wondering why she felt that way. She had mostly managed to shrug it off, and just enjoy the feeling. She felt wonderful.

They pulled into Yuna's driveway then, and Yuna figured she'd have to wait for Baralai to be all gentleman-y and get out and open the door for her. He didn't move though, so she was just about to open the door herself, which she was quite capable of doing, of course, when he suddenly said, "Wait, just a second…"

"What?" Yuna asked, sounding alarmed. What could he want?

"Yuna," Baralai said softly, "It was really hard for me to tell you how much I liked you earlier on, and I never really got a response from you…"

Yuna's heart rose to her throat. She had managed to forget all about that aspect of the night.

"Oh," she said, finding herself blushing, mostly out of the embarrassment that he had brought it up again.

"Anyway," Baralai continued, "I was just wondering if you'd…Maybe…I don't know…Maybe like to give me a chance. A real chance. Beyond what our parents want, even. What I guess I'm trying to say, Yuna, is that I…I was wondering if you'd like to…Well, to be my girlfriend."

Yuna turned away from him, unable to know how to react. How could he just pop a question like that on her? She felt as if he had just proposed to her. What was she supposed to say? Was he sincere? Did he really not care what his parents thought? Did he really like her?

The better question, though, was did she really like him? Somehow, she knew the answer to that question was simple: no.

"Baralai…" she started, slowly, "I don't…I just don't…" She couldn't manage to finish off her sentence.

"It's alright Yuna," he said, sheepishly, "I understand that you don't like me much. I've always known it. But I've always secretly liked the fact that our parents are pushing us toward each other. I don't mean to sound weird or anything, but I've really liked you for some time now. It's a shame all of our 'dates' always seem to end in disaster. But this one finally went alright, right?"

"Yeah, it was fun," Yuna said, softly, "I'm just not…Too sure about an actual relationship, that's all."

"I understand," Baralai said, and Yuna could just hear the disappointment in his voice, "I'm sorry to have brought it up."

"Don't be sorry," Yuna said, basically just because it was the polite thing to say, "I have to admit, I admire your…Um…Frankness."

Baralai didn't say anything to her. He just sat there, looking rather disappointed.

"Are we still on for the game tomorrow?" he asked her then.

"Definitely," Yuna said, throwing him a smile, "I'm looking forward to it, actually."

Baralai looked at the ground and sighed, saying, "It's the game you like, not me. Am I right?"

Yuna looked down as well. She honestly felt sorry for the guy. There really was nothing wrong with him. Did she only dislike him because of the fact that her father had spent much of her life trying to get her to hook up with him? Were there any other reasons to dislike him?

"Baralai," she finally managed, and she shifted uncomfortably, "I don't know what my feelings toward you are. You're really nice, and there's really nothing wrong with you…" she hoped she was wording things right, "…It's just that I feel so forced toward you, you know? It really makes me feel uncertain."

"I understand," Baralai said, once again, "But it's not really fair. I like you outside of our parents' relationship. I honestly do! Think of me as a normal, average guy. What would you think then?"

Yuna really did try to think. What would she think? She closed her eyes, trying to visualize Baralai as a normal guy, just a guy she passed on the streets, or something.

Finally, she sighed, and said, "I'd probably date you."

Had that just escaped her lips? Apparently it had.

Baralai gave a small smile, and said, "Then what's holding you back now?"

Yuna nodded slowly. Was he trying to convince her to go out with him? Obviously. Did he really like her that much?

Yuna had been dateless since her senior year in high school, which had basically been a long, two-year relationship that had ended in disaster. She had really thought she was in love with this guy, and that he was in love with her, until one day she found out that he'd been sleeping around with some college girls, from the U of B and from St. Maechan's. It had been a heart breaking experience for Yuna, but she had convinced herself long ago that she was over it. Perhaps dating Baralai wouldn't be the worst thing…

"I don't know," Yuna finally said, answering Baralai's question, "If I said, 'Sure Baralai, I'll date you', what would you do?"

"Nothing," Baralai said, and shrugged, "Except for smile."

"Nothing would change?" Yuna asked.

"Not at first," Baralai answered.

Yuna looked at the ground, and gave a slight laugh, "This is the most awkward way to hook up, you know."

"I'm sorry," he just said. Yuna realized that he hadn't taken his eyes off of her for quite some time, making her nearly melt in his gaze. The car seemed to be so warm and stuffy, that she was sure even Tidus' jersey was gasping for air.

"Alright," Yuna said, taking a deep breath, "I'll be your girlfriend."

"Really?" Baralai cried, "I mean…Well…" He gave a nervous little laugh, and said, "I'm sorry for making you wait in here so long." His cheeks were burning with redness, and Yuna could tell that he was extremely sheepish.

She just smiled, and opened her door, grabbing the jersey as she did so.

"Goodnight Baralai," she said, stepping out of the car into the cold winter air, "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah!" Baralai said, perhaps sounding a little too excited, "Goodnight Yuna!"

Yuna walked up to her front door then, and let herself in. As soon as the door was shut safely behind her, she found herself sink to the ground. What had she just done?

She covered her mouth with her hand, and her eyes were open wide. Had she really just become Baralai's official girlfriend?

A tear slid down her cheek, although she didn't really know why. Okay, so she was Baralai's girlfriend. Big deal.

She made her way upstairs then, and planned on throwing herself straight into bed. She did so, still sobbing gently.

Unknowingly, she held an item tightly in her arms, only to smell a strange smell. Looking down, she realized it was the jersey that she was cuddling in her arms, now dry.

She pulled it away from her, shocked that she had just cuddled with it, only to find herself looking it over.

The U of B's school colors were blue and yellow, but the jersey itself was white with blue writing. She looked at Tidus' messy scrawl of his name and his number, and found herself sighing. Her tears were now dry and her expression thoughtful.

Finally, without even thinking, she found herself cuddling with the jersey once more, and falling asleep, dreaming of Tidus' smooth goal.

-

"Man!" Baralai cried, "I can't believe Luca just scored!"

The score was three to two, with the Basilisks falling behind by one point. Yuna leaned forward, finding that her eyes were scanning for Tidus. She found him, and squinted, trying to make out his face. He was looking at the scoreboard, with a glare plastered across his face.

Tidus began to swim away from her then, toward his teammates. He made a motion, and the game began again, with the center taking control of the ball. Tidus was on the left wing, and he swam ahead, and caught a long pass from his teammate. He swam closer to the goalie and kicked the ball, only to have it rebound. However, the center was right there, and scored.

Both Yuna and Baralai jumped out of their seats, as did the audience.

"That was incredible," Baralai said, as he and Yuna still stood, clapping, "Those two are an awesome pair."

"Who is the other player?" Yuna asked, "The one that scored?"

"The Al Bhed," Baralai said, "He actually leads in scoring, you know, ahead of Tidus. That's because Tidus usually gets the ball and manages to get it to him, and then he scores. Even I have to admit that Tidus is a pretty well-rounded player. Which is probably what makes him as good as he is."

The time was already beginning to run out, with both teams tied three to three.

"Come on guys," Baralai said under his breath, "Make another goal!"

As if reading his mind, Yuna noticed Tidus grabbed the ball from a fumble and was swimming quickly to the other side.

Sure enough, just as fluidly as he had the other night, Tidus made a goal.

The entire place went wild, as if the team had just won a huge tournament.

"How does he do that?" Yuna asked, leaning forward, as Tidus' teammates all hugged him, and then went around the pool, in their little dance of victory.

"You should have asked him," Baralai said, "What took you so long last night anyway?"

"Oh, we were talking about colleges," Yuna said.

"No way," Baralai said, laughing, "What about? I don't take Tidus to be much of a scholar."

"Oh, he's not," Yuna said, "He didn't even know what St. Maechan's was!"

Baralai laughed, and said, "Yeah, he seems like the typical jock. I'm surprised he didn't try to make moves on you or anything."

Yuna's smile slightly faded. He had attempted to make a move on her though, hadn't he? That was what he had meant by inviting her to his place, right?

Yuna nervously gripped her purse tightly. For some reason, she had a horrible feeling that if the night had played over again, she would have accepted Tidus' invitation.

She looked out the window to see Tidus' face on the screen. What was her problem?

"Do you want to get something to eat after the game?" Baralai asked her.

"Sure," Yuna said, tearing her gaze away from the screen, "That'd be great."

"We only have a few seconds left," Baralai said, "Let's leave early to get a good spot at the restaurant."

Yuna hesitantly agreed, and followed Baralai out to his car.

-

"I can't believe how busy this place is already!" Yuna exclaimed. They had been seated for about ten minutes, when the blitzball crowd started filling up the restaurant. There were people everywhere.

Baralai and Yuna were seated at what was actually a three-person round table, located in the center of the restaurant. It had been one of the only open seats.

"It's pretty crazy, isn't it?" Baralai asked, laughing, "This is probably one of the most popular restaurants for the after-blitz crowd.

"So did we end up winning then?" Yuna asked, as she picked up her menu just to double check on what she wanted.

"Yeah," Baralai said, and sure enough, the news playing on a nearby sphere screen began to play shots from the game, including Tidus' goal.

"Another hell of a goal, huh?" Yuna looked up, only to see that none other than Tidus himself was standing there.

Tidus was smiling at Yuna, and then he looked at Baralai, and then back at Baralai.

"Mind if I have a seat?" he asked, and then without waiting for an answer, took the open seat.

A waitress walked by so Tidus yelled, "Hey Shelinda, get me my usual!"

"Of course!" she said, and walked hurriedly toward the kitchen.

Baralai looked at Yuna as if he couldn't believe what was happening, and said, "Um…"

"Oh, you guys don't mind, do you?" Tidus asked, shaking his head.

"Of course not," Yuna found herself saying, and Baralai shot her a 'what?' kind of look. Yuna simply shrugged at her new boyfriend's look.

"How could you didn't wear the jersey?" Tidus asked Yuna then, and he leaned toward her, almost as if Baralai wasn't even there. Baralai noticed this, but looked as if he was unable to decide what to do.

"I don't know," Yuna said, finding that she was blushing, "I guess I kind of forgot."

"It would be stupid to wear it," Baralai cut in, "Everybody in the entire arena would try to steal it, or bargain for it."

"They would, wouldn't they?" Tidus said, but he didn't take his attention away from Yuna.

Baralai opened his mouth to say something, but the waitress cut in between Tidus and he, putting a drink down in front of Tidus.

Tidus took a drink from it, and then looked at Yuna, and said, "Did we really introduce ourselves yesterday?"

Yuna shook her head. They hadn't really.

"Well, I'm Tidus," Tidus said, "And your name is…?"

"Yuna," Yuna said.

Tidus then looked at Baralai, and said, "Is this your brother?"

"I'm her boyfriend," Baralai said quickly, and Yuna was shocked to find that it was much to her dismay.

"Oh!" Tidus said, "I was guessing by the way you dress that you're way older."

Yuna couldn't help but laugh. It was true—Baralai was always in a sweater or a collared shirt and khakis. He rarely dressed very casually.

Baralai looked at Yuna, and then back to Tidus, and said, "Do you mind? We're kind of here together. This seat isn't for you."

"Oh, it's not?" Tidus said, and then he just turned back to Yuna, and said, "So I did some thinking, and I remembered that St. Maechan's is right by where I live! I run past it all the time! For some reason I always thought it was something else…"

"So you live up the streets a ways?" Yuna asked, remembering the little subdivision away from her school.

"Yeah," Tidus said, "I'm the house with the huge outdoor pool and indoor pool—you know, the center one."

"Really, how do you afford that?" Baralai asked.

"Oh, I get paid to go to school," Tidus said, "And my family has money. What does your family do?"

"My father is a Maester," Baralai said.

"Oh, the old guy I can't stand?" Tidus asked.

Yuna couldn't help but laugh again. Baralai was getting very angry. For some reason, Yuna couldn't help but find Tidus' antics to be…Well, funny. He was so wiry, and unable to sit still. And his smile hadn't left his lips the entire time.

Tidus smiled widely then, even wider than he had been, and said, "Well, I guess I should get going. See you around, Yuna! …And you too, Yuna's boyfriend." He jumped off of his chair then, grabbed his drink, and started off toward another table.

"Who does that guy think he is?" Baralai asked through gritted teeth, "This whole time, I just wanted to smack him or something."

Yuna shrugged, and said, "I think he's kind of funny."

Baralai shook his head, and said, "He's like that to everybody, so don't go thinking he likes you or something."

"Huh?" Yuna found herself shocked by what Baralai had just said.

Baralai was shaking his head, and he said, "He has a 'charm', Yuna. Anyone can see thought it. Let's go. I can't stand to be here anymore."

Yuna was hesitant, but Baralai made it clear that they were leaving. He stood up, and grabbed his coat, throwing it forcefully on.

Yuna sighed and did the same. Baralai started out the door, and Yuna followed him, although she desperately wanted to stay. Perhaps Tidus would come back?

"Bye Yuna!" she heard then, and she turned around, to see Tidus, at a table filled with girls, waving at her.

"Bye," she said back to him, smiling.

"Come on, Yuna!" Baralai just said, and took her hand, and dragged her out the door.

For most of the way to Yuna's house, Baralai didn't say a thing. Yuna didn't say a thing either, for her thoughts were too wrapped up.

She was Baralai's girlfriend now. She had given in, and he had made it fairly obvious how much he cared for her. Not to mention that he had obviously gotten very jealous over Tidus' actions toward her.

Even so, Yuna couldn't stop thinking about that smile, those eyes, and the sureness that came with them. There was just something about him…

She remembered Baralai's words about how Tidus simply played a charm, and how everybody could see through it.

Closing her eyes, Yuna leaned back, thinking, _"No, not everybody. I obviously can't see though it."_

Her eyes then went downward. Things were going perfectly, really. Baralai wasn't such a bad guy. He really wasn't. But why was she just now beginning to crush on someone else? And Tidus the blitzball player of all people!

She smiled even wider though, as she realized the number one person her dad would hate her to date would indeed be just that: Tidus the blitzball player.


	4. The Unwanted Weakness

Okay everybody, here is chapter four! It's just a tiny bit shorter than the other chapters, but I think that's alright. This chapter may be a teeny bit hard to follow, but basically it's about some internal warfare Yuna has going on within herself. Well, maybe it's not THAT dramatic. Well, anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 4: The Unwanted Weakness

Yuna leaned her head in her hands, and stared dully at the professor in front of her. The weekend was already long past, as it was already Wednesday. Of course, that meant that it was at least closer to the next weekend, and the game against Kilika.

Her professor continued talking about Spira's governmental system, and its founders, so Yuna found herself drifting off into thought.

She still hadn't exactly told her father that she was 'dating' Baralai. It didn't seem right. To her, telling her father that was the same as admitting defeat. And Yuna wasn't sure she was ready to admit defeat quite yet.

Yuna's mother had died when Yuna was very young. Yuna couldn't even remember her, actually.

Yuna had grown up going to random private Yevon schools throughout her life, all on her quest to make her father happy. Her father had never really pushed her toward anything, so she was basically free to do as she wanted.

Until, of course, she turned seventeen, and her father made it clear that she was to marry Baralai. It wasn't even a choice, and Yuna knew this. Perhaps that was why she had given up and told Baralai that she would be his girlfriend. Even though she had spend the last two years trying to deny it to herself, she knew that she would end up married to Baralai.

True, things could be a lot worse. Baralai wasn't such a horrid guy. He really wasn't. However, Yuna felt that he didn't really like her. He simply convinced himself that he liked her, because he knew as she knew that they would someday be married. That was all there was to it.

Yuna laid her head on her desk. Even if Baralai could convince himself that he liked her, she knew she couldn't convince herself that she liked him. But of all the guys in the world to like instead, why couldn't she seem to forget Tidus, the cocky and arrogant blitzball player?

For some reason, whenever she thought of him, she always pictured him to be so sweet and innocent. He appeared that way, and his cute little smile made him seem that way. Even still, she knew she had to face reality. Tidus was anything but innocent. It was simply the obvious truth, just as Baralai had said. Anybody could see it. Anybody in the entire world could see though that cute smile and into the true depths.

Even still, Yuna couldn't help but feel curious. She wanted to get to know him. Why, she didn't know. But she really did. In fact…She worried that she was growing obsessed with thoughts of him.

He was always on her mind and in her dreams. She read the paper everyday—something she had never done before—all in hopes of seeing an article about him. There usually was one, too. It turned out the blitzball team was extraordinarily popular. How she had never realized it before was beyond her. There was always something about them on the cover of the Sports section of the newspaper.

She found herself standing in her room, staring at his signature on his jersey. She had even looked him up in the phone book!

"What is wrong with me?" Yuna said into her arms, hoping nobody could hear her.

What was wrong with her? She felt lovesick, as if someone had just broken her heart. She probably felt this way because she knew he wasn't as innocent as she tried to make him out to be. She just knew it.

That was besides the point, though. For some reason, she liked the idea of liking him.

Sometimes, she wondered if it was one of those 'love at first sight' kinds of things. She didn't know if she necessarily believed in that, but the more she thought about it, the more she was beginning to believe it. After all, what else would explain her current situation?

In conclusion, Yuna decided that she was a very weak individual. She simply fell for him because he was good looking. End of story. She had to face the facts: the idea of dating him came with plenty of pros. She'd have the best-looking boyfriend in the city, Baralai would be out of the picture, and her father would be furious. She'd finally get the freedom that she was slowly coming to realize she dreaded for.

Of course, Yuna knew it was foolish to think like this. Tidus wouldn't let her be his 'girlfriend'. She would just be some girl he'd have for a night, and then thrown away. However, because Yuna was weak, and ready to admit she was weak, she knew she would give in, and not even care. And of course, because she was weak, she had a small twinge of hope burning inside her, telling her to go as far as she could with Tidus, hoping—no, praying!—that he would realize how much he loved her too, and be hers and only hers. And she could be his and only his and—well, let's just say Yuna would usually sigh dramatically when she got to this part in her thoughts. Because she was weak.

"Alright, that's all the time we have for today," her professor stated, "Be sure to do the readings for next week, and—."

Why the professor continued talking was beyond Yuna. The entire class left before he could even finish speaking.

Yuna put on her mittens and put her backpack on her shoulders. Her classes were done for the day, ending nicely at three o'clock. She rolled her eyes though, recalling how far she had to walk to her car.

It was a very sunny day, however, and the weekend's chilliness had ended, although it was still somewhat cold.

Yuna walked fast, thinking about whether or not she was going to get a coffee or not after class, when all of a sudden she heard someone call her name.

She turned around, only to have her eyes open wide and her heart speed. None other than Tidus himself was jogging up from behind her, clad in a blue jacket with a matching hat.

"Hey!" he said, stopping his jog as soon as he reached her, "Whatchya doin'?"

"I just got out of class," Yuna said, hoping she didn't appear to be an utter bafoon. She felt like such an idiot, for she was sure she appeared love-struck. She figured a guy like Tidus could see right into that too. He would no-doubt attempt to take advantage of her. She didn't care though.

"Oh right!" he said, "What class was it?"

"A really dumb government one," Yuna said, biting her lip nervously.

"I hate government," Tidus said, "I skip it all the time, and just show up for the tests. And then I fail those. But it doesn't matter." He smiled at her, which of course made her heart melt.

_"Just leave," _she thought, _"Don't make me even weaker than I already am!"_

"So you going to the game this weekend?" Tidus asked.

Yuna just nodded.

"We're gonna kick their asses," Tidus said, "It's gonna be great."

Yuna simply nodded again.

"Where are you walking to?" Tidus asked her then.

"My car," Yuna said, "The parking lot is really far from my class."

"That sucks," Tidus said, "My place is nearer. Wanna go back there, and I can drive you to your car?"

Everything in Yuna's body told her, "Yes! Go to Tidus' place! Go, go, GO!" Of course, she shook her head, and said, "That's alright. Thanks though."

"You sure?" Tidus asked.

"Yeah," she said, and then decided to change the subject before she changed her mind, "Um, what are you doing?"

"Jogging," Tidus said, looking at his watch, "I jog every day around this time. We've probably even passed each other before!"

Yuna tried to think if she recalled him passing her, but she didn't. Usually she got out of class earlier though, so perhaps that was why.

The two walked in silence then, and Yuna found herself wondering why he was sticking around. Was he dangerous? Yuna side-glanced him, but he didn't appear dangerous. He was just staring straight ahead, looking in thought about something.

"Hey, I'm having a party after the game on Friday," Tidus said then, "Wanna come?"

Yuna's heart seemed to skip a beat. He was inviting_ her_ to_ his_ party?

"Mm, I don't know," Yuna ended up saying, reminding herself that Tidus wasn't reality. Who knew what would happen if she went to that party!

"Well, if you change your mind, come on over," Tidus said, "You'll definitely know which house is mine."

She thought he would leave then, but he didn't. He just kept walking with her, again saying nothing.

"Your boyfriend doesn't like me, does he?" Tidus asked then.

"Well…He's…" Yuna trailed, for she had no idea what to say.

"…A little uptight?" Tidus finished for her, throwing her a huge smile, as if to say he was proud of himself for his input.

Yuna laughed, and said, "Yeah, just a little."

"He doesn't seem to be much fun," Tidus observed, "How come you go out with him?"

What kind of question was that? Yuna looked at him, and smiled a shocked smile.

He noticed that she thought his question was a little unnecessary, for he said, "Oh, sorry. I guess he's your boyfriend and all, isn't he?"

"It's complicated," Yuna said then, answering his question, "To be honest, we haven't even been going out for a week."

"Seriously?" Tidus asked, "The way you two acted, I figured you'd been going out for years."

"What? What made you think that?" Yuna asked.

"I don't know," Tidus said, shrugging, "You both seemed tired of each other already."

"Oh," Yuna said, looking at the ground.

"Um, sorry!" Tidus said, "I guess that's not what you wanted to hear."

"No," Yuna said, "You're right. Like I said, it's complicated."

She knew he wanted her to explain, but the last thing Yuna wanted to do was explain it to some stranger who she shouldn't even be talking to. He was dangerous, Yuna decided. For some reason, she was having a hard time remembering that underneath his mask of innocence was the devil.

But Yuna was weak.

Taking a deep breath, Yuna said, "You see, our fathers want us to get married. So we probably will."

"Oh?" Tidus said, and he laughed, which surprised Yuna, "That sucks."

"Yeah, it kind of does," Yuna agreed.

"So you don't even like him?"

"…Well, it's more like I don't want to marry him," Yuna said, "He's an okay guy, and if our parents hadn't gotten involved, we might actually like each other. But now…Well, we don't want to be forced to get married."

Tidus just laughed again, and said, "So ditch him."

"I can't do that!" Yuna cried. Yes, Tidus was indeed dangerous.

"Sure you can," Tidus said, just as they reached the parking lot, "Come with me after the game instead."

Yuna thought she was going to die. Oh how weak she was!

_"You aren't weak," _Yuna's mind cried, _"You aren't some foolish girl, Yuna! Tell him no! Tell him to get lost and never talk to you again! Don't let that smile fool you!"_

"I can't do that," Yuna managed to mutter.

Tidus nodded slowly, as if he understood, but then he said, "Why not?"

"It's complicated!" Yuna just said again, for it was indeed complicated.

_"Okay Yuna, get in your car. Get in your car and drive away as fast as you can!" _Yuna's head was screaming.

Tidus sighed, and said, "Look Yuna, I know you're a 'good girl'. Don't you ever want to do something you're not supposed to do?"

Yes, he was dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

"All of the time," Yuna just said, "But I can't. You're right, I'm a 'good girl'. Probably too much of a good girl for my own good."

"Alright, suit yourself," Tidus said, looking rather disappointed, "But you know, you can still come to the party; just bring your boyfriend. It'll be alright."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," Yuna said, smiling, "Maybe I'll see you then. Good luck on Friday."

Tidus simply nodded, and said, "See ya."

He waved then, and smiled as if nothing had happened between them, and then jogged off.

Yuna climbed into her car, and then leaned her head against the steering wheel. Had she really just done that? Had she really just told him that 'no, she wasn't interested'? She sighed. That could have been her one and only chance.

Yuna tried to convince herself that she had done the right thing. Still, she knew that if she could play the event over again, she wouldn't have done the same thing. She would have rushed straight to Tidus' house and just let him have her.

Yuna wanted to cry. Why was she so weak? Why did she even bother trying to be strong? She was a weak woman, and that was all there was to it.

She was one hundred percent under Tidus' trap. How she had got there in the first place was beyond her, but she was there. And that was all that mattered.

-

Yuna sat on her bed, staring at the jersey that was laid out on her dresser. She had her phone in her hand, but she had no idea who she expected to call.

Her mind was running madly, more crazily than it had all week.

What if Tidus really wasn't dangerous? What if she just thought that, because Baralai had led her to believe that? Maybe he was just a really nice guy, and maybe he really liked her.

She shook her head quickly. No, that was just what Tidus wanted her to believe. Or was it not?

She was confusing herself to no end. She leaned back on her bed, with her phone still in her hand.

Finally, she stood up and went to her dresser, where she picked up a little slip of paper that was lying next to the jersey. Then, she sat back down on her bed.

She really was weak.

On the slip of paper, she had written seven digits: Tidus' phone number.

Without even thinking, she quickly dialed the number, and placed the phone to her ear. A lump began to grow in her throat, although she had no idea why.

"Hello?"

"Tidus?" Yuna asked.

"…Yeah?"

"I-It's Yuna!"

"…Oh! Hey!" he said, "Um…How'd you get my number."

_"Oh Yevon, now he'll think I'm a stalker," _Yuna thought, but she simply took a deep breath and said, "It's in the phonebook."

"Really? I should probably get that unlisted," Tidus chuckled, "We don't want crazy people finding out my personal information now, do we?"

Silence followed, and Tidus finally said, "…Is there something you want?"

Yuna almost hung up. Instead though, she took a deep breath, and said, "I want to go with you."

"What?" Tidus asked, although Yuna was sure he had heard her.

"I want to go with you!" Yuna cried, "I'll ditch my boyfriend."

There was some silence, but then Tidus said, "Okay. Meet me down by the locker rooms after the game. I'll tell security beforehand that you're coming."

"Okay," Yuna said, "I guess I'll see you then."

"Yeah, see you then," Tidus said, "Bye."

"…Bye."

He hung up then, and Yuna simply dropped the phone. Had she really just done that?

She quickly picked the phone up, and quickly dialed Baralai's number. He didn't answer, for he was probably in class, so Yuna left him a quick message, making up a lie as she went.

"…Um, hey Baralai, it's me," Yuna just said, swallowing hard, for she needed to get rid of the large lump in her throat, "I'm going to meet up with my cousin after the game on Friday—it's her b-birthday—so if it's alright, I'd still love to watch the game with you, but then I have to go meet my cousin. Well, um, call me back! Bye."

Yuna hung the phone up, and then laid back in her bed, staring at the ceiling.

She was indeed weak.


	5. The Unwanted Party

Whew, I've been busy! I had to really work to get this one out on time! Plus, it's REALLY long! Oh well though, more to read, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 5: The Unwanted Party

"I almost feel sorry for Kilika," Baralai said, although he laughed when he said it, "They're getting killed."

True indeed, they were behind the Basilisks by four points.

"There's still four minutes left in the game," Yuna said, "They could still pull though and win."

"It's unlikely," Baralai just said, smiling at her.

With that said, a member of the Basilisks grabbed the ball and made yet another goal.

Yuna laughed, and said, "Yup, it's highly unlikely."

Baralai laughed too, and said, "They must feel like such losers. They're at the bottom of the line—even further down than Besaid!"

"Poor guys," Yuna agreed.

The two watched the game in silence then, before Baralai finally sighed, and said, "Are you sure you don't want to hang out after the game?"

"I have to be with Rikku," Yuna said, biting her lip.

"Are you sure I can't go with?" Baralai asked for what seemed like the hundredth time, although in reality it was only the second or third.

Yuna looked at the ground, and doing her best to act natural, said, "You know how much Rikku doesn't like you…"

"Well, maybe we can start over?" Baralai said hopefully.

Yuna threw him a smile, and said, "How about tomorrow night? I'm afraid she'd get angry tonight, since I promised her it'd just be her and me."

"Alright," Baralai said, turning his attention back to the game, "Call me when you're done though, if it's not too late."

Yuna's stomach clenched. "Um…I have a feeling it'll be an…all night kind of thing."

Baralai simply smiled at her, and said, "Well, don't be too tired for the game tomorrow!"

Yuna gave him a wry smile in return, and said, "I'll try not to be. I wouldn't want to sleep through the game, after all!"

Baralai smiled at her, and then completely turned his attention back to the game. Yuna chewed lightly on her lip, and looked the opposite way from Baralai, praying that he couldn't read her face. She fumbled with her fingers nervously, for she was indeed nervously. Was she doing the right thing?

Tidus' line came out into the sphere, but Yuna couldn't watch. What was going to happen to her? What would Tidus do? The other day, she hadn't cared. Now that she was deep inside of his trap though, how would she get out? She sighed. The answer was simple: She wouldn't.

There were only seconds left in the game. Yuna's stomach began to hurt. Was she supposed to go to the locker rooms immediately after the game? What if Tidus hadn't cleared it with the security. Would she get in trouble? Would her father be notified that his little girl was heading to the locker rooms to do who-knows what with a blitzball player she hardly knew? She didn't care if her father knew. She was just afraid of what would happen if her father did know. He would probably kill her.

She side-glanced Baralai, and bit her lip once again. What would he think of her if he knew? Obviously he wouldn't be very happy. Did Yuna care? If he thought horrid thoughts of her, did it matter? All the better to stay away from him, right?

But then what? If her reputation was ruined, she'd simply be tossed away, first by Tidus, and then by Baralai.

But perhaps Tidus wouldn't toss her away? Yuna sighed. She had to be realistic. Of course Tidus was going to toss her away! She was a one-night thing, and both she and he knew that.

Yuna swallowed. She couldn't let Baralai find out.

The final buzzer buzzed then, causing Yuna to literally jump. Why did she have to make it so obvious that she was nervous?

"Where are you meeting her?" Baralai asked then, after the two clapped for their team's victory.

"Rikku?" Yuna asked. Of course, who else would he be thinking of.

"…Yeah."

Yuna's heart sped. Where was she meeting Rikku? She couldn't say outside of the locker rooms!

"Oh, by her seats," Yuna just said.

"Well, let's go then."

Yuna's eyes popped open. _Let's?_

"I can go by myself," Yuna said, her voice quivering.

"It's alright, I'll walk you," Baralai just said, throwing her a smile, "What section is she seated at?"

Yuna's heart was speeding. For all she knew, Rikku wasn't even at the game!

"Really Baralai, it's alright," Yuna said, managing to sound somewhat forceful, "Besides, I think Rikku was upset that I was watching the game with you and not her anyway. I don't want to make her more upset."

"She seems like she gets upset pretty easily," Baralai simply mumbled to himself, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah," Yuna said, smiling. She figured this was the time they were supposed to hug or kiss, or somehow acknowledge that yes they were a couple and yes, they were saying goodbye. Instead, the two just stood their in an awkward silence, before Baralai finally nodded, and said goodbye, and then left.

Yuna pretended to go the opposite way from Baralai, and then walked into a random section of the college seating, hoping to fool Baralai. She waited there for a good five minutes, before heading back out. Now she just had to find the locker rooms, and hope that all went well.

She ended up going the same way she had gone the night that she had first met Tidus, when she had gone to get his jersey. She made her way to a long, narrow hallway, and just as she was starting to think she was lost, a security guard made his way toward her.

"I'm sorry, but no fans are allowed down here," he said, shaking his head at her.

"Um…I'm Yuna," Yuna just said, unsure of what else to say, "Um, I'm a friend of Tidus'?"

The man looked at her for some time, before he finally smiled and said, "Oh yeah, he told me you were coming. Follow me."

Yuna breathed a sigh of relief and followed the man down yet another long hallway, before she reached an opening.

"You can have a seat right here," the man said, and he winked at her, and said, "This is where most of Tidus' dates sit."

Yuna's eyes instantly went downcast. So she was just another one of Tidus' easy women, was that it? She sighed. She knew she was.

She sat there for some time, and blitzers started to come out. She recognized none of them, of course, but she didn't really look, either. She was too ashamed. They paid her no attention, and just walked past her.

Well, until a certain player came out.

After the flow of blitzers seemed to stop, the door opened, and out stepped a blitzer, who stopped in front of Yuna and crossed his arms.

"So you're Tidus' new one, huh?" he said to her.

She looked up, only to see a tall blonde standing in front of her.

She felt her cheeks heat up, and figured they were very red.

"Well, look here," he said, "Tidus has a game tomorrow, so don't be out too late. And don't give him too rough of a night—he doesn't need that right now. And—."

"Gippal, are you harassing her?"

Yuna looked up only to see Tidus coming out. He smiled as her eyes met his, and he put his hand on the tall blonde's shouler.

"Just ignore him," Tidus said to Gippal, "He thinks he's my mother or something."

"Hey, I'm just watching out for you 'cause you don't," Gippal said, shaking his head. He turned back to Yuna and continued his list of dos and don'ts.

"Don't try to get Tidus to drink, don't you even think about trying to get him to do drugs, and—."

"Gippal, that's enough," Tidus said, pushing him aside, "Ready to go Yuna?"

"Hey, I'll be at your party," Gippal said, "So I'll have my eye on you!"

"Of course you'll be there, idiot," Tidus said, and he sounded harsh, but Yuna could tell he was just joking, "You're my roommate."

Gippal laughed, and said, "I was making sure she knew, not you, moron."

"Whatever, go home," Tidus just said.

"Yeah, see you soon."

He waved at Tidus and then made a little girly wave at Yuna, and strutted off, slinging his blitz bag over his shoulder casually.

"Um, just ignore him," Tidus said.

"Is he Al Bhed?" Yuna asked then, wondering if he was the guy her cousin had been talking about.

"Yup," Tidus said, "He's pretty much my best friend."

Yuna smiled, but said nothing.

"Ready to go?" Tidus just asked again. He swung his bag onto his shoulder, and smiled widely.

She nodded, and stood up. She had just stood up when he started walking. He led her to a back door, which led to another hallway, and then finally another door, which led to the chilly outside.

Tidus put on his hat, and gave her a sheepish smile, saying, "Coach says I have to wear my hat every time I'm outside. I don't want to catch a cold."

Yuna couldn't help but smile. She definitely got the impression that Tidus was the baby of the team, and their pride and joy, the one person that they wanted to protect more than anything.

"My car's right here," Tidus said, leading her to a sporty blue car.

He pushed a button on his keys, which caused the car to make a little beep-beep noise, and then he opened his own door, and crawled inside.

Yuna knew this was her last chance to run. Of course, she didn't run, but instead opened the door to the passenger seat, and crawled in.

The two rode in silence for some time. Yuna suddenly noted something was off though, and immediately began laughing as soon as she realized what it was.

"What's so funny?" Tidus asked.

"Um, why are you listening to this music?" Yuna asked, for out of his speakers came classical music—violins, flutes, clarinets, you name it.

"Oh," Tidus said, quickly turning down the music, "Um…I listen to it before games." He gave her an incredibly sheepish smile, but then he just shrugged and said, "What would you rather listen to?"

"I don't care," Yuna said, "I just thought it was shocking, that's all…"

"Just because I play blitzball doesn't mean I can't listen to classical music," Tidus just said, smiling, "It relaxes me."

Yuna simply smiled, and said, "Great game tonight, by the way."

"Thanks," Tidus said, "It was awesome, killing them like that."

"I felt kind of bad for them," Yuna admitted, looking at her feet.

"I didn't," Tidus said, "Because as soon as I think like that, I'll start to lose. I gotta keep focused on winning. The more points ahead we are, the more likely it is that we're gonna win. It's easier for the heart, know what I mean? There's not nearly as much stress then."

Yuna simply nodded. Not that she understood, though…

"Wow, look at all the people here!" Tidus said, as they pulled onto his road.

Yuna looked, and sure enough, there were cars lined up all down his street.

"Where will you park?" she cried, wondering if he would have to park way down the road from his own house.

"No worries," Tidus said, "They always leave a spot for me!"

He zipped around a few cars then, and into a place that seemed to be there just for him. Yuna realized that it probably was there just for him.

"Alright," he said, "Here we are."

Yuna stepped out of his car, and her eyes popped open. His house was so huge! And for just a college student! Yuna glanced at him, wondering just indeed where he got his money. Surely the school didn't pay him _that _much.

"Come on," Tidus said, leading the way to the front door. He opened it, only to have a blast of music come floating out the door. He walked in, and Yuna followed. There were people everywhere! Never had Yuna seen so many people in one house, and this was just the living room.

"Do people always beat you to your parties?" Yuna found herself asking.

"Usually," Tidus just said.

Tidus waved to some guys, who must have been blitzball players, and then led Yuna to another room. Yuna's heart began to race. Where was he going to take her? She also immediately looked at the ground. She realized she was getting a lot of looks as she walked past people.

Tidus led her to a room that was far from the front, where there were less people—although people were still there, and he sat down on the couch, leaning far back.

Yuna took a seat next to him—not too close, of course—and looked around. She simply couldn't get over the size of the house, nor the size of the party. Never in her life had she been someplace so busy!

Tidus leaned his arm on the arm of the couch, and put his head in his hand. He looked tired.

Of course, this just made Yuna feel even more out of place.

A girl came into the room then, and she squealed when she saw Tidus. To Yuna's surprise, the girl—a blonde with an incredibly low top—squeezed herself between Tidus and Yuna, and wrapped her arm around Tidus.

"Hey Tidus!" she said, holding her beer in front of herself, as she half sat on Yuna and half sat on Tidus, "Wanna go up to your room with me?"

"Get away Leblanc," Tidus said, "Can't you see I'm with someone?"

"Well ditch her!" the girl just giggled, "You know you'd rather have me!"

Tidus simply pushed her off of him, sending her onto the floor. She spilt her beer all over and gasped, and then simply stomped off, saying nothing more to Tidus.

Yuna didn't know what to do or say. Was she just in the way? Tidus seemed really annoyed—perhaps he wasn't annoyed at Leblanc's actions, but instead the fact that he was with her and not Leblanc?

"Tidus, I—," Yuna started, only to have him interrupt her.

"I just hate these parties!" he cried, "I don't know why Gippal has to have them every Friday night."

"Wait…This is Gippal's party?" Yuna asked.

"Yeah," Tidus said, sighing, "Gippal's twenty-one, you know. So he can drink and stuff. So he and all the others have these huge parties every Friday."

"So you don't drink?" Yuna asked. She felt utterly shocked. She had thought Gippal was just kidding.

"I can't," Tidus said, "If I get caught drinking underage, I won't be able to play for a few games. That could kill me."

"Well, you don't have to drink to have fun," Yuna said.

"Yeah, but it's no fun being around all these morons," Tidus said, "All these guys turn into assholes when they're drunk." He sighed then, and said, "Wanna go somewhere else?"

Yuna just nodded.

"Come on then," Tidus said. He grabbed his coat and handed Yuna hers, and walked out a back door.

"Where are we going?" Yuna asked.

"To get something to eat—I'm starving!" Tidus just said. He seemed to be in a better mood, and Yuna wondered if it was the fresh air.

The two climbed back into his car, and Yuna said, "So you don't like to party?"

"I don't know," Tidus just said, shrugging, "It's hard, being the youngest on the team. And…You know, not to sound cocky or anything, but it's hard being the youngest and the best."

Yuna couldn't help but smile. She had figured he was egotistical, but at least he was trying to mask it.

They drove in silence, basically because Tidus was listening to "Highlights of the Game!" on the radio.

Finally, the pulled up to a restaurant, and Tidus said, "This place alright?"

Yuna had never been to it before, but she nodded, and followed Tidus inside.

The waiter seated them immediately, even though the place was crowded, as if they knew that Tidus would be there.

"I usually come here when I don't want to hang around the party," Tidus said, shrugging, as if he could read Yuna's mind.

Yuna simply nodded, and then turned her attention to the menu, although it wasn't the menu that she was thinking about.

Finally, Yuna took a deep breath, and said, "Tidus…Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Go for it," Tidus just said, although he seemed more interested in the menu.

"Um…How much money does the school pay you?" Yuna asked, hoping she wasn't invading too far into his privacy.

"A lot," Tidus just answered.

"Did they give you the house and everything too?"

"No, that's Gippal's," Tidus said, "But yeah, they gave it to him."

"It's a really nice house," Yuna managed, "And your car is really nice, and your…"

"I got money," Tidus said, and gave her an odd look, "What do you think, blitzers are poor?"

"Well I don't know," Yuna said, "It just seems odd that a college kid would have that much money."

"Do you know much about blitz?" Tidus asked then, "If you're good, you rake in the dough—when you play as an amateur you make a fine penny, and when you play professionally, you make more a day than pretty much everybody in all of Spira."

"Really?" Yuna asked, but she knew that his answer wasn't the one she was looking for, "You said your parents had money though…"

"Well, yeah," Tidus said, and then he put his menu down and looked at her. He crossed his arms, and said, "You don't know who I am, do you?"

"What do you mean?" Yuna asked.

"You don't know who my father is?"

"No."

Tidus laughed, and said, "Um, Jecht of the Zanarkand Abes? You've never heard of him?"

Yuna shook her head. Should she have?

Tidus just laughed again, and said, "He was their legendary player."

"Oh," Yuna said, "So he made a lot of money?"

"Yup," Tidus said, nodding, "He made the most money a blitzer has ever made. And I'll follow in his footsteps."

"Where is he now?" Yuna asked.

"Dead."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Yuna said quickly, ashamed that she had to ask.

"Don't be," Tidus said simply, "He drank himself to dead. It was better for all of us."

"Are you from Zanarkand?" Yuna asked then.

"Yup, I was born 'n raised there."

"Is that where you want to play?"

"You mean, is that where I'm going to play?" Tidus said, and then he nodded, "Yup, I've been signed with the Abes; I'm the first to ever get signed at my age! I've been signed though since I was eighteen."

"Wow," Yuna said.

"Yeah," Tidus just said. The waiter came then and took their orders, and said that he would get their food out immediately.

The two sat in silence, saying nothing.

Their food really did come immediately, and upon seeing the look of shock on Yuna's face, Tidus explained that since he was who he was, he always got his dinner immediately.

The two then ate in silence, and Yuna was beginning to wonder what was in store for her next.

She took yet another deep breath, and said, "So what are we going to do next?"

"It's getting late," Tidus said, looking at his watch, "Want me to take you home?"

That was it? He was going to take her home? Like a…gentleman?

"R-Really?" Yuna asked, "We're not going to…"

"Not going to…Oh." Tidus smiled and shook his head, "Well, unless you want to."

Yuna didn't know what to say. She simply shook her head, 'no', and said, "I didn't think you were one to ask."

"I always ask," Tidus said, but then he just shrugged and said, "Usually I don't need to ask."

"Oh," Yuna said. So she was different. What was she to him then? A dinner friend?

"Where do you live?" Tidus asked, standing up and putting his coat and hat on.

"In northern Bevelle," Yuna said.

She followed him out to her car then, and off they went.

The car ride was mostly silence, for the radio announcers were still talking about the game. Tidus didn't really seem to be listening though, for he appeared rather deep in thought.

"Is this one yours?" Tidus asked.

"It's the next one, but stop here," Yuna said, "If my dad knew I wasn't with…Well, here's fine."

"Alright," Tidus said.

Awkwardness then followed. Yuna couldn't help but realize that it was definitely one of those 'moments', the kind of time when something—anything!—should have happened.

Just as she was sure something would happen though, Tidus smiled, and said, "Will you be at tomorrow's game?"

"Yeah," Yuna said.

"Come wait for me again if you want to," Tidus said, "You're welcome any time."

Yuna smiled, and said, "Alright. Thanks for everything. Bye!"

"Bye," he said. She crawled out, and waved, and then he was off.

Sighing, Yuna didn't know how she felt. Part of her was relieved to have made it home alive, but another part of her was disappointed.

The night simply hadn't been dangerous enough.


	6. The Unwanted Attention

Yay, I really think this story is starting to get going! Although I realized something...I have NO IDEA how it's going to end! None whatsoever! I've got it all planned out for at least three more chapters or so, and then I'm kind of stuck...I should probably think on that, shouldn't I? Hmm... Well, enjoy!

Chapter 6: The Unwanted Attention

"You're going to another game with Baralai?" Braska asked as Yuna grabbed her coat. Baralai wasn't to her house yet, but Yuna figured he'd be there any second.

"Yeah," Yuna said.

"Baralai told me that you two are…a couple now?" Braska asked.

"Oh, yeah," Yuna said, and a wave of heat flushed to her cheeks. Why had Baralai told him? Not that it mattered. He would have figured it out sooner or later.

"I'm glad things turned around for you," Braska said, "Baralai's a fine young man, as I've told you many times."

Yuna rolled her eyes. Yeah, she knew all about Baralai's 'fineness'.

At that moment, Baralai pulled up.

"Invite him in!" Braska said, "You don't just run off to his car, do you?"

"We're going to be late," Yuna simply said, "I'm sure he says 'hi'."

"It's alright if you miss some of the game."

"Baralai's a huge fan, Father," Yuna said, "He's be upset if we missed it."

"Fine, but bring him in after the game. I want to have a chat with him."

"Sure, sure," Yuna just mumbled. She threw her coat on, and ran into the snow, and hopped quickly into Baralai's car before he could even get out to open the door for her.

"You seemed rushed," he said, although there was little emotion to his voice.

"I don't want to be late!" Yuna just said, using the same excuse she had used with her father.

"I bet you don't," Baralai just said, his voice still extremely emotionless.

He didn't say anything else, and neither did Yuna. They simply rode in silence to the arena.

-

The first half was just ending, when Baralai finally spoke to Yuna. Throughout the entire game, he hadn't uttered a word, but Yuna had simply assumed that it was because he was into the game. This game was much closer than the game before, for the score was tied, one-to-one.

Yuna had actually bee the first to speak, when she said, "Wow, I can't believe how much closer it is!" Her eyes were on Tidus of course, for he was swimming around from person-to-person, and he didn't appear to be very happy.

It was then that the period buzzed, and Tidus continued talking to Gippal, looking rather upset, as they swam out of the pool.

"So, where were you last night?" Baralai didn't look at her, but instead at the pool in front of him.

"With Rikku," Yuna said, her heart beginning to pound. The night was over, wasn't it? Why would he be bringing it up?

"She called me last night," Baralai said.

"What?" Yuna cried, "Why would she do that?"

"She said she thought it was mean that I wouldn't let you go see her during the games. I told her I had no idea what she was talking about. So then I asked if I could talk to you, and she told me that she had no idea where you were."

"She must have been drunk," Yuna just said, and tried to think of something to change the subject.

"She said she hadn't seen you in months, and it wasn't her birthday," Baralai said, "There must have been more than alcohol involved if she felt that way."

Yuna didn't say anything. What could she say? She was busted, and she knew it? Should she apologize? Should she cry and tell him that she was confused and didn't know what to do and that she would never ever do it again?

"Who were you with?" Baralai asked, "You had to have left with someone."

Yuna was completely lost for words. There was no way she could tell him that she had been with Tidus, even though Tidus and her had done nothing. She couldn't tell him.

"I took a taxi," Yuna lied.

"Don't lie," Baralai said, seeing right through it, "Who were you with?"

The game started back up then, for the audience began to scream.

"Fine, we'll talk after the game," Baralai just said, for Yuna turned her attention immediately to the game, glad to have yet another source to place her attention on.

Even so, Yuna couldn't focus on the game. She should have called Rikku and told her to act as her alibi. Of all days to call Baralai, why did it have to be that day?

She realized it was pointless to worry about what she should have done, for that was in the past. Now she had to figure out what she was going to tell Baralai.

Yuna's mind was running wildly, trying hard to figure out what she could tell Baralai. She figured the best thing to do would be to tell him that she didn't want to hang out with him, and she felt bad, but she didn't know what to tell him, so she lied and really did take a taxi home.

Yuna nodded. That was what she would tell him.

She then allowed herself to watch the game. Her eyes had just gone into focus, and she found her heart jump as she realized that Tidus was right down in front of her, swimming toward the other team's goalie.

Mostly everybody in the arena had stood, to be able to see past their neighbor who was also standing, and Yuna did the same. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man from the other team—a very large man, slammed Tidus hard causing Tidus to lose control, and he slammed into the goal post.

"He's down," Baralai said.

Yuna leaned out the window, trying to see the best she could. Sure enough, Tidus was down, grabbing his knee with his face twisted in pain.

"Oh no," Yuna said, "Do you think he's alright."

Baralai didn't answer her.

Yuna leaned even further out the window, squinting. Now the escapade was on the screen though, but Yuna couldn't seem to turn her attention back to it.

A man finally went out there, and he, along with two others, helped drag Tidus off.

"Well, we can say 'goodbye' to our chance of winning," Baralai said, and he sat back down.

Yuna's eyes darted back and forth. Everything continued as if Tidus wasn't hurt. Was he alright? Would he be able to play?

"If his knee is hurt, he can still…Play, right?" Yuna asked.

"Probably not. Which is bad for him. If he was seriously hurt, he can kiss his career goodbye."

Yuna felt dizzy—sick almost.

She wanted to see him.

Without saying anything to Baralai, she started toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Baralai asked.

"I'm going…To the restroom," Yuna lied.

"You were with him last night, weren't you?"

"With who?" Yuna played dumb.

"With Tidus," Baralai said, "And now you want to go see him."

Yuna didn't say anything. She was silent.

Baralai swallowed hard, and said, "If you go see him now, it's over between us."

Yuna paused. Her mind was telling her to turn around and sit down next to Baralai and proceed to apologize.

"Alright," Yuna said, and took a deep breath, "It's over then."  
With that, she walked out of the room.

She found herself running. Why she was running was unknown to her, but she was. She ran down the stairs and into the hallways leading to the locker rooms. She assumed he was in the locker rooms, but of course she had no idea.

She was waiting for someone to stop her as well, but nobody came. The halls were empty.

She made her way to the locker room, and realized she had no idea what she was doing. Should she knock? Should she just enter? What if he wasn't in there? What if other people were?

She took a deep breath and decided that she didn't care. With that, she pushed the door slowly open.

The room was empty, except for the fact that Tidus was lying on the bench, staring at the ceiling.

"Tidus?" Yuna said, as she shut the door behind her.

He sat up, and held himself up by his elbows.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He didn't sound upset or anything, but his voice cracked as he asked it.

"How are you?" Yuna asked.

"How does it look like I am?" Tidus asked, lying back down. He had a bag of ice on his knee.

"Is it bad?" Yuna asked.

"Horrible," Tidus said, "I can't move it."

"Why don't you go see a doctor?"

At that, Tidus sat all the way up, and shook his head, "I can't go see a doctor! They would say I couldn't play next weekend!"

"Tidus, if you can't play, you can't play. That's all there is—."

"You don't understand!" Tidus yelled at her, causing her to jump.

A tear flew down his cheek, and the sight was almost too much for her.

"I have to play!" Tidus said, "I can't not play! I have to!"

Yuna shook her head, and said, "But if you play and you're not supposed to, you could just hurt it more!"

"I don't care," Tidus said, and another tear fell from his eyes, "If I can't play at this game, everything's ruined anyway."

"You can't force yourself to play," Yuna said softly.

Tidus looked at the ground, and said, "It's not that bad. I'll be better."

"You can't push it," Yuna said, taking a seat on the bench across from him, "Can I see it?"

"Sure," Tidus said, and he slid the ice bag off.

It was completely bruised, but other than that, Yuna didn't see too much wrong with it. Still, it wasn't a pretty sight.

"How come you came down here?" Tidus asked then.

Yuna shrugged, and said, "I wanted to make sure you were alright. I didn't know you'd be down here all by yourself…"

Tidus gave her a little smile, and said, "Where's your boyfriend?"

Yuna looked at the ground, and said, "We broke up."

"What? Really?" Tidus asked.

Yuna nodded, and said, "Like, just ten seconds ago." Then, for reasons unknown to her, she started to cry.

For some reason, Tidus found that amusing, for he laughed, and said, "Now we're both crying!"

Yuna laughed too, and said, "I don't know why I am!"

Tidus stood up then, although he put all of his weight on his good leg, and said, "I wish I knew what the score was. Have we scored yet?"

"I don't know," Yuna said, "Do you want me to go check?"

"If you want to," Tidus said with a shrug.

"It's not a problem," Yuna said, smiling at him.

She started to go, but Tidus said, "Hey Yuna!"

"Hm?" she said, turning around.

To her surprise, he stretched his arms out in front of him, and said, "Thanks." Obviously he wanted to hug her.

Yuna hoped she didn't appear sheepish, but she walked up to him and fell into his embrace.

"No problem," she just said.

Just as they fell into the full embrace, however, the doors to the locker room suddenly slammed open. Before Tidus and Yuna could part, there were millions of flashes in their eyes.

"Damn," Tidus said, letting go of Yuna quickly.

Yuna fell away from him, and looked blankly into the sea of photographers.

"Tidus, who's this young lady?" people began to question him, "How's your knee? Will you be able to play against Zanarkand State next week? How will this effect your career? Hey you, girl, what's your name? How do you know Tidus?"

"Yuna, leave," Tidus said, "There's a back door there."

"What about you?" Yuna asked.

"I can handle these guys," Tidus said, smiling.

"Who are they?"

"Newspapers, TV, that kind of stuff."

"…Oh."

"See ya later," Tidus said, and then turned back to the cameras, almost acting as a shield for Yuna.

Yuna didn't say anything, but walked off quickly to the back, and let herself through the backdoor.

As soon as she stepped into the cold air—it turned out that door led to the outside—she realized that she was in major trouble. For one thing, she didn't have a way home, unless she waited for Tidus, and she knew that wasn't an option. For another thing, her picture was going to be all over the news. And for yet another thing, her father was probably going to kill her for breaking up with Baralai.

Yuna quickly pulled her phone out, and dialed the only number that came into her head—Rikku's.

"Yunie!" Rikku answered almost immediately, "Why didn't you tell me you were dating Baralai! I totally chewed him out last night, and he was like, "We're dating". You totally should have told me!"

Yuna was silent, for she couldn't think of anything to say.

"Um, is something wrong Yunie?" Rikku said then, "Where are you?"

"Outside of the blitzball arena," Yuna said softly.

"Really? I'm in the arena," Rikku said, "Why are you outside?"

"I don't know, I went though a door that Tidus told me to go through and—."

"Did you just say Tidus?" Rikku said slowly.

"Kind of," Yuna said, for she had no idea how her cousin was going to react.

"As in the blitzball player?"

"…Yeah."

"Yunie, why didn't you take me with you to meet him! I want his autograph!"

"Rikku, it's…"

Rikku ignored her and kept talking. "Oh my gosh, can you believe we managed to win? Without Tidus? Hey, how's his knee by the way? Is he going to be able to play next weekend? Oh my gosh, speaking of next weekend, do you want to go to Zanarkand with me? I'm taking the fan bus!"

"What?" Yuna said, "Zanarkand?"

"Yeah! We'll stay in the same hotel as the players and everything!" Rikku squeaked.

"I'd love to go," Yuna said, smiling, "But right now, I need to know…Can you give me a ride home?"

"You didn't drive?"

"Um…Baralai did," Yuna said.

"Okay, Yunie, where are you? We have a lot to talk about!"

-

"What a jerk. Like, duh, of course you were going to go running to Tidus, is he stupid? Did you throw something at him when he said that?"

The two were nearing Yuna's house, and Rikku had made Yuna explain everything to her. Yuna had just finished telling her cousin about what Baralai had last said to her.

"I just left," Yuna said.

"How's Tidus?" Rikku asked then, and she elbowed her cousin, "And you totally know what I mean!"

"His knee isn't in good condition," Yuna just said.

"Yevon Yuna, you know what I'm talking about!" Rikku cried.

Yuna just shook her head, looking confused, and said, "Only now the papers are going to have a picture of Tidus and me hugging and—."

"That'll be so cute. Did you guys get your pictures taken or something?"

"Rikku, the press burst into the locker room."

"Oh Yevon, I hope you two were decent! What kind of pictures are these!"

Yuna rolled her eyes, and said, "We just…hugged."

"Sure Yunie."

"Seriously Rikku, that's all, and then the press burst in and started snapping pictures of us. It'll be all over the papers that I was in there."

"So?"

"My father is going to kill me."

"Yunie, who cares? You're like Tidus' girlfriend!"

"I'm not his girlfriend," Yuna said, "We just had dinner together and that was it."

"Which is totally what a typical couple does Yunie! Do you have his number? Let's call him!"

"I don't have his number," Yuna just said.

"Sure you do!"

"We're not dating or anything," Yuna said again, "I made a stupid decision and now I'm going to get in huge trouble for it."

"Yunie, if Tidus is paying attention to you, then you pay attention back to him! Duh!"

"Rikku, you don't really understand," Yuna said, and she focused out the window, "I'm afraid Tidus doesn't really want me to be his girlfriend. It's a…Every now and then kind of thing with him, isn't it?"

"Well, that's what I've always thought," Rikku said, her voice going from its excited high-pitched state to her bummed-out-reality low, "Not that I know him or anything. But he'll be off to Zanarkand in less than a year, so I don't know why he'd want a girlfriend…"

Yuna just nodded. Even her cousin knew it.

"But Yunie, maybe he really loves you!"

"No," Yuna said, "I'm the one that's smitten with him."

"Well, maybe when we go to Zanarkand he'll realize that he really is in love with you. Wouldn't you bet?"

Yuna didn't reply. They were almost to her house, anyway.

"I'll call you more about going to Zanarkand, okay Yunie?" Rikku said as she pulled into her driveway, "It'll be a blast. Get your mind off things, right?"

"I don't know," Yuna said, "But it will be fun. Bye Rikku. Thanks a lot."

"No problem," Rikku said, "I'll see you around!"

Rikku drove off then, and Yuna took a deep breath. She wasn't looking forward to what was going to come next.

She took a deep breath, and entered her house. Sure enough, her father was standing right at the door, waiting for her.

"Baralai told me you two broke up," he said, crossing his arms, "May I ask why?"

Yuna rolled her eyes, and said, "Baralai keeps you mightily informed, doesn't he?"

"You don't," Braska said, "Someone has to! Now what happened?"

Yuna swallowed, and said, trying to sound sweet, "Daddy, I've fallen in love with a blitzball player."

Braska just shook his head and said, "You call Baralai right now and apologize for whatever you did."

"I didn't do anything!" Yuna said, and it was partly the truth, "I lied to him, but that's it. I swear I didn't do anything else."

"You lied to him? About what?"

"I went out with a blitzball player instead of him. But we just ate, Daddy! We just had dinner. He talked about the game, and I sat there."

"Why would you do something so stupid?" Braska roared at her, "Yuna, call him, right now."

"No."

"Then march up to your room, and I don't want to see you until you've called Baralai and apologized."

"Fine," Yuna said, "But you won't be seeing me then. And, I'm off to Zanarkand this weekend to go to a blitzball game with Rikku."

"You will do no such thing," Braska said, "I'm dialing Baralai's number right now. The only way I'd ever let you go to a game in Zanarkand would be if you were with him."

"No," Yuna just said.

Braska looked defeated. He appeared very tired, Yuna realized, and she found that she felt bad. He probably had far more important things to worry about than her. But that was always how it was. He always had more important things to worry about.

Yuna sighed, and said, "Look, let me go to Zanarkand with Rikku. I need a vacation. I just need to clear my head. And I promise that after that, I will call Baralai and apologize to him, alright?"

Braska just shook his head, but said, "I don't even care. But you have to be realistic, Yuna. You can go to that game with that cousin of yours, but the second you get back, I will have Baralai here waiting for you. And you two will discuss your problems and get over it. Got it?"

"Fine," Yuna just said, "And now, I'm going to bed."

Braska didn't say anything. He simply sat down and opened a book, and began to read.

Yuna stomped up the stairs to her room, and threw herself on her bed. At least she was going to Zanarkand. She buried her head in her pillow. She would spend the entire weekend in Zanarkand with Rikku.

Yuna sat up then. Who was she kidding? She may spend the game with Rikku, but she knew who she'd be with otherwise.

She stood up and walked over to her dresser, where Tidus' jersey still lay. She would be with its owner soon enough.

With that as her final thought, she clicked off her light, and went straight to bed.


	7. The Not So Unwanted Night

Okay, this chapter goes by really fast, but that's because I didn't want to bore you guys with fillers, and decided to just get straight to the point! The problem is, I only have about three more chapters' worth after this one. Oh well, I'll just have to spend a lot of time thinking! Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Here's another long one for ya!

Chapter 7: The Not-So Unwanted Night

"Yuna, how do you explain this?" Yuna heard her father's voice roar from downstairs. Yuna moaned and rolled over. It was far too early for this.

She heard her father coming up the stairs though, so she rubbed her eyes a few times, and braced herself.

The door slammed open, and her father stood there, wearing a very stern face.

"What?" Yuna asked with a yawn.

Her father flung out the newspaper, and it was no surprise to Yuna what was on it. It was the sports section, and there was a blurb about the game, and then of course, a certain picture.

"How do you explain this?" her father asked.

"Oh! Let me see that!" Yuna cried, and she took the paper from her father, "How's Tidus' knee? Will he be able to play this weekend?"

Her father looked dumbfounded.

"Aren't you going to explain yourself?" he asked, "What were you doing in that locker room?"

"Huh? Oh, I was seeing if Tidus was okay."

"Who is Tidus?"

"A friend of mine," Yuna just said, although she didn't really know how to classify their relationship, "Um…I met him through Baralai, kind of."

"What do you mean, kind of?"

Braska's eyes then went to Yuna's dresser, and Yuna felt her heart stop. Of course he would see the jersey. Sure enough, he did, for he walked over to it, and said, "Why do you have this?"

"I won it," Yuna said quickly, "Baralai and I did."

"I'm throwing it away," Braska said, "It's indecent for you to have this."

"No!" Yuna cried, throwing the paper aside, "That is very important to me?"

Braska shook his head, and said, "What is going on with you, Yuna? You're in this man's locker room, you have his jersey… Who is he?"

"I told you, he's a friend, and nothing else," Yuna said, "Baralai and I…Had dinner with him once or twice…"

"So Baralai knows him?"

"Of course," Yuna said, although that wasn't necessarily the full truth, "Now may I have that back?"

Braska didn't say anything. He put the jersey back on the dresser though, and shook his head at his daughter.

"I have an important meeting in fifteen minutes," he said, "When I get back, we are going to have a talk."

"Okay," Yuna just said, but she didn't look at him. She simply took that newspaper and began to skim through it, attempting to find out about Tidus' condition.

Braska shook his head, and still had a dumbfounded look on his face. Yuna figured he had no idea what to do: she had never acted out before.

She heard him close the door behind him, and he was then gone.

Yuna sat up and continued to skim. Sure enough, she found Tidus' little interview, where he talked not only about his injury, but about her as well.

According to the article, there was no doubt that Tidus would play in the Zanarkand matches. However, the article said that they were unable to release how bad his injury was.

Yuna bit her lip nervously. What if he was pushing himself too hard? She didn't fully understand what the big deal was. After all, if he didn't play in Zanarkand, he would still be there, right? Wouldn't that just give her more time to be with him? She wanted to smack herself, of course. It wasn't about her. She had to get that through her head.

And besides, who said Tidus wanted to be with her anyway?

She sighed and got ready for a day of doing nothing but bumming around, counting down the days until Zanarkand.

-

Her father must have forgotten all about the newspaper, for he didn't talk to her about it at all that night. Instead, he simply went tiredly to his office, where he remained most of the night.

Of course, that had been three days ago.

Yuna sighed, and shifted uncomfortably. How dreadfully she wanted class to be over with.

It seemed to her that the week was going by painfully slow. All she wanted was for the weekend to come.

She had met Rikku that day for lunch, and they had discussed all of their plans. They wouldn't make it to the Friday game, but they'd be at the Saturday game. They'd spend most of Saturday on the bus, going to the game, and then they'd spend the night, and come back the next day. Yuna was slightly upset to miss the Friday game, but she figured being able to go to the Saturday game was better than nothing.

She needed the weekend to come, for her own sanitary. She didn't know what was wrong with her. All she could think of was a certain blitzball player. It was as if he had brainwashed her or something, making it so she could only think of him. She was obsessed, and she'd known it from the first time she saw his blue eyes.

What scared her the most was how truly his she was. Everything was ruined, and possibly because of him. Baralai was to be her husband—she knew this—but now he probably hated her, and if Baralai wasn't to be her husband, who would be? Yuna would often sink into daydreams of herself marrying Tidus, and having little blitzball-playing babies, but she knew this was nothing more than a daydream. It wasn't a possibility. It wasn't. Tidus had his own separate life and she had her own. She was simply star struck, even though he wasn't really a star. Yet.

Perhaps she felt the way she did because of the fact that he was a blitzball player. Perhaps that was the only reason she felt the way she did toward him. Not to mention that he was good looking, and seemingly coming onto her. She bit her lip nervously. She knew what all of this was going to lead to.

But she was ready for it.

She was finally dismissed, and once again, she basically ran out of her classroom, and into the slightly warmer weather.

She was happy that the weather was warming up. However, she knew that it meant the end of the blitzball season. She mentally counted how many games were left (she had pretty much memorized their schedule), and realized there was the game in Zanarkand, and then two home games after that, and their regular season would be over.

Sighing, she pulled her backpack onto her shoulders and wished she had found out about blitzball a lot sooner. A lot sooner.

At that moment, Yuna heard a honk, and turned around only to see Tidus waving at her from the window of his car.

"Hey!" she said, almost losing herself entirely. She was sure her heart was no longer beating, and it would only be seconds before she collapsed.

"Hey," he said back.

"How's the knee?" Yuna asked, for she hadn't been thinking of much other than his injury.

Tidus shrugged, and said, "I don't know. I'll definitely be playing this weekend though. You coming?"

"Yeah!" Yuna said, "I'll totally be there."

"Great," Tidus said, "You coming on the fan bus?"

"Yeah," Yuna said.

"Cool," Tidus said, "Well, I gotta get groceries." He rolled his eyes and said, "Gip's addicted to these little wolf-fiend-shaped crackers. It's pretty embarrassing buying 'em, but he's hung over, and he says they're the only thing that makes him feel better."

Yuna just smiled and said, "Well, it's nice of you to get those for him."

"Yeah," Tidus just said, "Well, see you this weekend then?"

"Definitely," Yuna said. Tidus waved, and sped off, leaving her standing there, playing the conversation over in her head, and wishing he would come back.

She watched his car until it was completely out of sight and sighed. She would definitely see him soon. Definitely.

-

"I knew it was worse than you were making out," Gippal leaned against the wall as Tidus came limping in.

"What do you mean?" he just asked, throwing his gear bag down on the ground. The two were the first ones in the locker room, preparing to practice once more before their big game against Zanarkand.

"You're limping," Gippal said, "You probably need crutches."

"I probably do," Tidus agreed, "But I have to play."

"Hey," Gippal said, "Don't push yourself too hard. It'd be better to sit this one out than to risk your entire career. Don't be stupid, Tidus."

"Seriously Gippal, enough with the mom-ness. I can handle myself."

"You're a baby and you know it," Gippal said, "Don't play. I'll tell the coach if that's what you're worried about."

"If I don't play, I won't go," Tidus said, "They won't take me to Zanarkand."

"So, take the weekend off. Relax, enjoy yourself. You never do."

"…I can't," Tidus said, "I've got to play. The scouts gotta see that I'm still in it, right?"

Gippal sighed, and said, "I think they'll see it anyway. You know they're not just gonna drop you."

"You never know…"

"You're more worried about that girl, admit it."

"What girl?"

"I don't know her name! The brown-haired one…The one with the different eye colors."

"Yuna?"

"Yeah, her."

"I don't even think about her," Tidus said, shaking his head.

"Sure you do," Gippal said, "She's going to be at the game, isn't she? You probably want to give her a good show."

"Do not," Tidus said, "Her and I haven't even done anything."

"You never do anything on the first date, Tidus," Gippal said, raising his eyebrows at his friend, "You have some sort of devious plot up your ass, and you know it."

"Do not," Tidus just said, "Now shut-it, and don't tell anyone you saw me limping."

Gippal simply shook his head at his friend, but said nothing more.

-

"I seriously never thought this day would come," Yuna admitted to her cousin.

"I know, me neither!" Rikku chirped, and she stood up, looking at her surroundings, "I'm so excited to get there! How many hours did they say it was?"

The two were sitting on a very packed bus, on their way to Zanarkand. They had already been traveling for an hour, but it seemed so much longer to Yuna.

"Three hours," Yuna said, "So only two more."

It was a short ride, which Yuna was amazingly thankful for. She couldn't stand to wait much longer.

With that in mind, she took a deep breath and leaned back in her seat. The only thing she could think to do was take a nap. Before long, she fell into a pleasant slumber, dreaming of a certain someone.

-

"Oh man, this game is way too close!" Rikku cried, "I can't believe they made another goal! We were totally ahead!"

The score was tied, three-to-three, with only five minutes left in the game. The night before the Basilisks had played, and had lost three-to-four.

"Tidus doesn't seem right," Yuna mumbled, "It's like he can't swim as fast or something."

"He was really stretching out his knee at the beginning," Rikku observed, "I bet it's still bothering him."

"He shouldn't push himself," Yuna said, "He could be seriously injured."

"That won't stop him though," Rikku said, "Like now! He's got the ball!"

Sure enough, Tidus did have the ball. He passed it immediately though, and his teammate caught the ball flawlessly, and went for the goal, but the goalie caught it, which allowed an eruption of applause to go through the stadium.

"It's weird being the away team," Yuna mused, "Everybody's cheering for the wrong team!"

"I know," Rikku said, and then she started up a cheer of "Let's go Basilisks!"

Soon Tidus got the ball again, and once more passed it up to his teammate. His teammate went for the goal, only to have it blocked once more. However, Tidus caught the rebound, and flung the ball, right into the goal.

The Basilisk section jumped up and screamed, for their team was going to win.

"That was awesome!" Rikku cried, "I guess his knee really isn't _that _bad!"

"Yeah, I guess not," Yuna said, although she still felt that something seemed off. Even as much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, something told her that that goal had simply been a fluke—the ball had been going in the right direction at the right time.

"It's so exciting to win!" Rikku cried, even though there were two minutes left in the game, "Especially after last night's upset. I can't believe we lost! We'll be tied with Zanarkand now for first place. Hmm…I wonder why Tidus didn't just play for Zanarkand? You should ask him Yunie."

"Why would I get the chance to ask him?" Yuna asked, shrugging.

"Because, you know you will," Rikku said, prodding her cousin with her elbow, "You gonna see him tonight?"

"No," Yuna answered, although everything in her heart was screaming "YES!"

"That's a shame," Rikku said, "I'm totally going to go and party with them all tonight!"

"You're not old enough to drink," Yuna reminded her cousin.

"So? Neither are half of the team!" came Rikku's response, "And that doesn't stop them."

"It stops Tidus," Yuna said surely.

"Well, that's him," Rikku just said, "Poor guy—he'd probably be the only one not partying tonight!"

Yuna felt her eyes cloud. Oh how she hoped so.

With that as her final thought, the buzzer buzzed, and the Basilisks fans all cheered, while the many Zanarkand fans simply began to leave.

-

"Okay, Yunie, we're here, in Zanarkand, and able to party with the team, and you just want to sit in here?" Rikku cried as she put on her makeup.

"Yeah," Yuna just said. She was lying on her stomach on her bed, staring aimlessly at the sphere in front of her.

"But Yunie! You'll miss out on all of the fun!" Rikku cried, "Just come with!"

"Don't worry about me," Yuna just said, sighing, "You have fun, Rikku. Oh, and ask Gippal if his hangover got better. Tell him I saw Tidus on his way to the grocery store to get him the koala-shaped crackers.

"What?" Rikku just said, but then she said, "Come on Yunie, stop being such a party pooper!"

"Just go Rikku," Yuna said, smiling at her cousin, "Have fun."

"Alright," Rikku said, "If you're positive…Well, I'll call you and tell you where we end up. So if you want to come, you can come."

"Okay," Yuna said, "See you later."

Her cousin tried a few more times to get her to go, but she finally sighed, said goodbye to Yuna, and left.

As soon as Rikku closed the door behind her, Yuna felt her eyes go to the hotel's phone. Zanarkand was Tidus' hometown, so why wouldn't he be out enjoying himself? He was probably with old friends, or with his teammates, or eating at his favorite restaurant or…

Sighing, Yuna rolled over so that she was on her back and stared at the ceiling. It had been stupid of her to come. She had a lot of studying to do. Why had she even come? What was her goal?

She rolled back onto her stomach and continued to stare at the phone. It would be so easy to call and ask what room Tidus was in. But what good would that do for her? What would she say? She couldn't just tell him that she was pretty much obsessed with him and would do anything for him, now could she?

Finally, she stood up and decided that she had nothing to lose. Literally.

She was just about to pick up the phone, when to her surprise, it rang.

She snatched it up and said with a slight tremble, "Hello?"

"Hey, Yuna?"

Her heart began to beat fast. It was Tidus.

"H-Hey," she just said, "Whatchya doing?"

He didn't answer her. Instead, he said, "I'm in Suite three-oh-five, if you want to come."

She almost dropped the phone. She couldn't go! She couldn't go to his room!

He must have noticed her pause, for he laughed and said, "There's something… Something really important I gotta talk to you about."

Yuna bit her lip nervously, and said, "Okay."

There was a pause then, and a moment of awkward silence, before Tidus said, "Okay, see you in a little bit."

He didn't give her time to say anything, for he hang up the phone.

Yuna sat slowly down on her bed. Had she really just said 'okay'? Was she really going to go?

She found herself rolling her eyes. Of course she was going to go. She had nothing to lose.

She walked quickly toward the door, stopping momentarily by the mirror to check her hair and makeup. Then, she took a deep breath, and headed into the hallway.

His room must have been a floor higher than hers, so she jumped into the elevator, and with a shaky hand, pushed the button for his room.

The elevator stopped, and Yuna almost didn't get out. Of course, she simply took yet another deep breath, and started into the hallway, looking for his number. Soon enough, it came into sight.

Nervously, Yuna reached out her fist, and knocked on his door.

He answered, of course, smiling broadly. Yuna's worries seemed to melt away with that smile, but a new worry hit her. She was his, and she knew it.

She was that weak.

However, she noticed almost immediately that something was off. For one thing, Tidus was completely supporting himself on a crutch.

"Tidus, are you alright?" Yuna asked as he allowed her in.

Tidus shook his head, and said, "No."

He hobbled over to the next room, and Yuna followed. She was shocked to find that he had a very large and nice suite. The room consisted of a living-room type room, which was where they were, complete with nice furnishings of two chairs and a couch. There were two doors from there, which Yuna guessed led to the bathroom and the bedroom.

Tidus took a seat and rested his head in his hands.

"It hurts so bad," he said, through gritted teeth, "But at least we won today, right?"

Yuna took a seat in the chair across from him, and said, "You need to go see a doctor, Tidus. It could get worse."

He ran his hand through his hair and said, in a slightly choked up voice, "…What if they tell me I can't play anymore?"

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Yuna said, "You were out there today and yesterday, right?"

"Yeah but…I was so off," Tidus muttered, "What if I'm always off now? Forever?"

"If you see a doctor, then you'll know for sure," Yuna said, trying to sound hopeful.

Tidus didn't say anything, but he finally sighed and said, "If it's bad, what will I do?"

"I'm sure it's not all that bad," Yuna said, "But you definitely should sit out next weekend. And at practice, too."

"What if I get worse then?"

Yuna laughed and said, "You won't get worse."

"Did everybody leave?" Tidus asked then.

"You mean all of the players? I don't know, but my cousin said a lot of them were going to some club, and she was going with."

"Yeah," Tidus said, "They've left then. They probably won't be back until early tomorrow morning."

"Gippal too?"

"Yeah, he always goes," Tidus said, "How come you didn't go?"

Yuna didn't know what to say. So she bit her lip and told him the truth.

"…Something told me you weren't going to go. I'd rather be with you."

She couldn't face him. She looked down at her feet, unsure of what his reaction was going to be. Perhaps it was time for her to leave. The poor guy seemed depressed anyway. She took a deep breath, and stood up.

"W-Wait!" Tidus said, "Where are you going?"

"I should go," Yuna just said, again biting her lip nervously, "You probably are tired from the game and stuff anyway. I don't want to bother you."

She gave him a slight smile, and started toward the door. To her surprise, Tidus jumped out of his seat, and ran over to her, with a slight limp, and caught her arm.

Shocked by his movements, she looked at him, with her eyes large. His eyes were large too, as if he was surprised by his own actions.

"Don't go," he said, "Stay with me tonight."

Yuna thought she was going to die. She closed her eyes, and reminded herself that she had to be realistic. Even though she knew she was weak, and even though she knew she was already deep in his trap, she also knew that she had to try to break free.

"I'm sorry Tidus," she said, hoping to stand her ground, "But I don't do one-night stands."

"Then this won't be a one-night stand," Tidus said.

The two stared at each other, each not blinking. Then, without warning, Tidus pulled her close to him, and their lips met.

Yuna felt her body give in. She was his. She was completely lost. Anything he wanted, he would get.

A tear slipped down her cheek, but even so, she knew she wasn't going to regret it.

And with that, the night began.


	8. The Unwanted Realization

Wow, I'm sorry this is a day late! I tried to update yesterday, honestly, but was being a booger and wouldn't let me update. Also, I'm going to attempt for a Thursday update, but I can't promise anything. I have gotten the flu, I'm afraid, and thusly won't be able to write today, and I have class tomorrow...But I'll try really hard for Thursday!

Also, this chapter is a little bit...Um...Well, let's just say it's not the cleanest chapter, but I don't think it's above a "T" rating or anything like that. If anybody thinks its horrible, just let me know. :) And this chapter is really short! I didn't notice how short it was until I uploaded it...I hope you enjoy anyway!

Chapter 8: The Unwanted Realization

The two were cuddled closely, the blankets wrapped around their bodies. The night was very quiet, and very still. Yuna assumed that it was incredibly late. Just the same, she didn't feel tired. How could she? She felt as if she was dreaming. There was no need to sleep, for she was living the dream as it was.

Although she knew it wouldn't be long before she woke up, and back into reality. For the time being, she was just going to enjoy herself. She'd already decided that, and it was far too late to go back.

She found herself looking up at him. He was still awake as well, staring at the ceiling, deep in thought. They had been lying there in silence for what had seemed like an eon.

Finally, Yuna opened her mouth.

"Tidus," she said, turning on her side and placing her hand on his chest, "There's something I've been wondering…"

"Hmm?" he just said, looking at her.

He had grown so quiet—peaceful, almost. She wondered if he was tired.

"The first time I really watched you play blitzball…We were down a man, and you made the smoothest goal I had ever seen in my life. I think that's when I…Fell for you."

It was odd. Even now she still felt awkward.

She swallowed quickly, and continued, "What does it feel like, to just swim around the goalie and make a goal like that?"

Tidus smiled and said, "Unlike anything else. My heart starts pounding, the adrenaline rushes…It's the greatest feeling on Spria. Better than anything I've ever felt before. I let the ball slip out of my hands, or kick it, and I just know if it'll go in or not, you know? I can just feel it."

Yuna sighed. She had wondered if it had felt that way. Better than anything else in Spira…

"Mind if I ask you something?" Tidus asked then.

"Nope, ask away," Yuna said, smiling at him.

"Who else have you had sex with?"

Yuna's smile instantly faded. He couldn't ask that question! …Could he?

"Um…" Yuna started, but then she gave him a challenging smile and said, "I'll tell you, but then you have to tell me all about your sex history."

She figured he'd back down. But he just gave her a challenging smile in return and said, "Alright, I'll tell you if you tell me first."

"How do I know you'll actually tell me?" Yuna cried.

"Just trust me," Tidus said, "I rarely go against my word."

"Fine," Yuna said, feeling defeated, "My high school boyfriend. You know, it was senior prom night… I felt like… Well, we'd been dating throughout high school—you know, over two years. I really thought I was in love with him, and he was in love with me. So we rented out a hotel and went about our business. Only the very next day, he broke up with me, completely out of the blue. I didn't understand why. Then I found out that he had another girl on the side. Apparently she was better in bed than me, and…Well, that was that. I was really crushed for a long time…"

Tidus listened to her intently, but made no expression. She bit her lip. It was awkward to tell him this, especially since she figured everything would work out the same with him.

Deciding to keep the mood light, Yuna said, "So, I told. Now you have to."

"Fine," Tidus said, "I did it for the first time when I was fifteen. She was an older girl, seventeen or so. It was at a party, and all I remember was that I had to get up really early the next day for blitz practice and I was so tired that I fell asleep in the locker room, and missed out on the entire practice. I didn't do anything again until I was seventeen, when some really hot cheerleader came knocking, asking for it. Then when I got into college, I hooked up with some girls and would pick the prettiest out of them and date them for two days or so, do it, and break up with them. I did this for most of my freshman year—last year—before I realized how stupid I was being. So I took a break, and—."

"Okay, okay," Yuna said, "I don't need to hear anything more."

Tidus laughed and said, "You wanted to know!"

"Yeah but fifteen? What did your mother think?"

Tidus' eyes dimmed, and he said, "My mother died when I was really young?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Yuna said, and she tried to recall if Tidus had told her that before, "Well, if it's any compensation, my mother died when I was young too."

Tidus just gave her a little smile, and said, "It was hard, growing up without a mother, you know. And without a father, too."

"How old were you when he died?"

Tidus rolled his eyes and said, "I don't know, seven or so? Mom died really soon after that. Leaving me all alone."

Yuna didn't know what to say. No wonder the poor guy had been out doing who-knew-what at the age of fifteen.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" Yuna asked then.

Tidus was silent for a while, but then he said, "Not really."

"Why not?" Yuna asked, deciding that if they were spilling their entire life stories, she could ask him whatever she wanted.

"I don't know," Tidus said, "I don't really have time for one." He seemed to be having trouble talking, and couldn't look at Yuna when he talked about it.

Yuna swallowed. She was glad that he didn't have a girlfriend, but she figured her chances of becoming his first 'girlfriend' were very slim.

"I have to leave at five," Tidus said then, "We always leave really early to get back. It's supposed to be so we have time to study and stuff before class on Monday. But you're free to stay for as long as you want. What time does the fan bus go back?"

"Ten," Yuna answered. That meant that Tidus would be back in Bevelle before she was probably even awake. "What time is it now?"

Tidus looked over at the alarm clock on the nightstand, and said, "It's two."

"Are you tired?" Yuna asked him.

"Kind of," he answered, "My knee kills."

"Want something for it?" Yuna asked, "I have some ibuprofen in my purse."

"Nah, I'm fine," Tidus said softly.

The two laid there in silence for a long time, and Yuna began to get sleepy. She wondered if he was already sleeping.

To answer her thoughts, he suddenly spoke, saying, "What was your senior prom like?"

Was he still on that subject? Yuna felt herself glare, but she said, "I don't know. At the time I thought it was the best night of my life. It was…Fun, I guess."

"I didn't get to go to mine," Tidus said softly, "I wasn't at school for most of my senior year."

"Why not?" Yuna asked.

"I was playing in a junior blitzball league," Tidus explained, "So I didn't have time for school."

"You must have played so much blitzball," Yuna said sleepily.

Tidus didn't say anything, but he finally sighed and said, "Yeah."

"Was it worth it?" Yuna asked.

Again, there was silence, but Tidus finally mustered a, "Yeah."

Silence followed once more, and Yuna felt her eyes begin to grow heavy. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

-

She vaguely noticed that he got up, but she couldn't seem to open her eyes. She simply rolled over and pulled the blankets further over herself, not wanting the night to be over, for she knew what would happen then.

The night had seemed like something that would happen in a fairy-tale. She had been in such a dreamlike state that it didn't even seem real. Her eyes snapped open then. Had she just dreamed it?

At that same moment, she heard the door close. She sat up, only to realize that Tidus must have just left. He was gone.

She laid back, and sighed. It hadn't been a dream, but even if it had been a dream, she was in the same place. It was over.

Yuna snuggled back into the blankets anyway, and drifted off into a much more restless sleep.

-

Rikku hadn't said a word all morning, and Yuna assumed it was because she was tired from too much partying. Of course, Yuna was tired too, so she hadn't said anything either.

They had already been on the bus for an hour, and Yuna felt as if she could nod off to sleep at any time.

Just as Yuna had gotten as comfortable as she could manage, and was drifting off to sleep, Rikku turned to her, and said, "Alright, spill the beans, Yunie."

"What do you mean?" Yuna just asked tiredly.

"You know exactly what I mean, missy!" Rikku said, "Where were you last night? I got home at like three, and you were no where to be found."

Yuna didn't answer.

"Yunie, I know you're not sleeping!" Rikku cried, shaking her cousin, "Were you with Tidus?"

"Shh!" Yuna hushed her cousin, "Don't say it so loudly!"

"So you were!" Rikku said, laughing, "Sounds like you had a nice night."

Yuna didn't respond. She just wished that Rikku would stop talking about it.

"Don't tell anybody," Yuna finally said, sighing, "I'm…Kind of embarrassed."

"What's to be embarrassed about?" Rikku asked, "You're probably not the first."

"Exactly," Yuna said, "I don't need people to think I'm a slut…"

"I see," Rikku said, "Do you feel like one?"

"Kind of," Yuna said, for she did indeed. Her cheeks felt flushed. She was very embarrassed, for indeed, she seemed an awful lot like a slut. Perhaps she was?

Yuna crossed her arms, and said, "I don't know what I was thinking. It's not like me, you know?" Perhaps she was just hoping her cousin would tell her that she had been drugged or something, and that it wasn't her fault at all. Perhaps Yuna needed someone to tell her that.

"Well, I would've done it," Rikku said, "If everybody on this bus knew, they'd probably all be really jealous. Anybody could lose it around Tidus."

"I guess," Yuna said, her eyes downcast.

"Do you regret it?" Rikku asked her cousin.

"I don't know," came Yuna's response.

"Don't worry about it," Rikku told her cousin reassuringly, "I'm sure it would happen to even the most innocent girls out there."

Yuna nodded, but Rikku's words weren't making her feel any better. And Yuna knew why.

She felt like a slut, she honestly did, but she didn't feel that way because of what she did. She felt that way because she wanted more. She wanted to be in his arms forever, not just for a night.

She couldn't help but think of his words. He had told her that it wasn't a one-night stand, hadn't he? What did he mean by that? Or was that just his way of getting her to stay? Although, would she have really left?

It was snowing, Yuna noticed, as she looked out the window. She had hoped that spring would come soon, but by the looks of things, it would still be a while yet.

"When does the blitzball season end?" Yuna asked her cousin.

"Not this game, but the next one, is the last one," Rikku said, "Sad huh?"

"Yeah," Yuna said, "What do they do in their off season?"

"Got me," Rikku said, "Party. Stuff like that."

Yuna frowned. Tidus probably really partied then. Hadn't he said the only thing keeping him from drinking was the fact that he couldn't play if he got caught?

Yuna closed her eyes. He had tricked her. It was apparent now. That smile and those eyes…It was all just an illusion. Underneath everything was just a normal, crude college guy. Underneath everything, he was the same as her high school boyfriend had been. Sex and then goodbye.

"I feel like such an idiot," Yuna mumbled.

"What Yunie?" Rikku asked.

"Never mind," Yuna just said, and she turned away from her cousin. At the moment, all she wanted was to sleep.

-

"So are you going to go to the game this weekend?" Rikku asked, as she took a drink from her latte.

The two had agreed to meet for coffee a few days before. The day was already Thursday. Wednesday, the day that Yuna had seemingly seen Tidus the most, had come and gone, with no sightings. It made her a little upset, but she was mostly over it. Mostly.

"I don't know," Yuna said, answering her cousin's question, "I don't know if I want to."

"Well if you want to," Rikku said, "I have an extra ticket. My brother said he wanted to go, so I picked one up for him, but now he doesn't want to go."

"I guess I could," Yuna said, "Although I bet Baralai will be there…"

"Well, if he tries to talk to you, I'll punch him!" Rikku said, smiling, "What time do you want to meet me?"

"I don't care," Yuna said, shrugging.

"Want to eat before or after the game?"

"Whenever," Yuna said.

"After it is!" Rikku chirped, "I know where the players hang out!" She winked then, but Yuna just looked at the ground.

"Cheer up, Yunie," Rikku said, "Tidus is just an idiot. There are a lot of nicer guys on the team!"

Yuna laughed and said, "No, I think I've had my fair share of blitzball players!"

"Gippal's nice," Rikku said, looking thoughtful, "I have him in a few of my classes. He's Tidus' roommate, you know."

"Yeah, I do know," Yuna said, "I've met him before."

"He's really cool," Rikku just continued, "He's having a party on Saturday night, but I guess you probably don't want to go."

"Not really," Yuna said, looking down at her coffee. Her stomach began to ache though, for she knew that she did want to. She wanted to horribly.

"Oh my gosh!" Rikku cried then, shocking Yuna, "Isn't that the cutest thing ever?"

The coffee shop had set up a little display of coffee, shaped like a moogle.

"I guess so…" Yuna just said.

"I bet it took them hours to do that!" Rikku said, "It's so cute. You know, I saw a moogle once!"

Yuna just nodded. Apparently her cousin had a strange fascination with moogles.

"Man, I wish I had a camera!" Rikku cried, "It's so cute!"

"I have one," Yuna said, taking her camera out.

"Yay!" Rikku just cried, and snatched the camera from her cousin. She snapped the picture, and said, "Thanks so much Yunie! Give it to me at the game, okay?"

Yuna nodded, and said, "Alright."

"Hey, what pictures do you have on this?" Rikku asked.

"I don't know," Yuna said, "I can't even remember the last time I used it."

Rikku held the camera so that Yuna could see it, and she pushed the play-back button, to view the pictures.

"Aw, there's my moogle picture!" Rikku said, and she pushed an arrow, only to have her smile fade. Yuna's smile faded as well.

There on the screen was Tidus with his arm around Yuna, smiling widely, and Yuna smiling a slight smile.

"Aw, this is even cuter!" Rikku cried, "When did you take this?"

Yuna couldn't seem to move. She had completely forgotten about the pictures that Tidus had taken of the two of them that day.

Even though it had only been a little less than a month ago, it seemed like ages ago.

Yuna took the camera from Rikku and quickly shut it off.

"I have to go," she said, although her coffee wasn't finished, "I'll see you at the game, Rikku."

"Okay," Rikku said, seeming shocked that her cousin was leaving so early, "See you this weekend!"

Yuna didn't say bye. She simply rushed off.

As soon as she was out of sight, she pulled that camera out again. She was going to delete that picture.

Of course, she knew she couldn't. Hugging it to her chest, Yuna rushed to her car, and decided to go home.

She threw the camera in the passenger seat of her car and quickly got in. She rested her head on the steering wheel and let out a loud sigh.

"After the game," she said softly to herself, "I'll talk to him. I'll tell him how I feel."

Somehow, she knew things weren't going to work out well. It was a realization she didn't want to face. For the time being, the only thing she could do was stay positive. As positive as she could muster to be.


	9. The Unwanted Discovery

Well, good news! I feel much better, and got the chapter out on time! Yay! Also, today is a snow day (double yay!) so I should be able to write most of the next chapter. So hopefully that one will be up on Saturday. I kind of had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I don't know why... It's not like it's wonderful or anything...

OH! And, I wanted to thank you all for your kind reviews! Thanks for wishing me to get well too:)

Enjoy!

Chapter 9: The Unwanted Discovery

"Did you read the paper?" Rikku asked as Yuna and she walked into the arena.

"No, I didn't," Yuna answered, "Should I have?"

"Probably," Rikku said, "Tidus isn't playing."

"What? Why not?" Yuna asked.

"Apparently his knee is a little messed up," Rikku said, "Although for their sake, they can't announce how messed up it is. He said he'd definitely be playing next weekend though. He just has to sit this one out."

"What does that mean for him?" Yuna asked.

"It means," Rikku said, "That he'll be sitting somewhere in the stands. But good luck getting to him, 'cause he'll be surrounded by people."

"That's fine with me," Yuna lied, "I don't want to see him anyway."

Rikku gave her cousin a somewhat twisted smile, as if she was trying not to smile, and she said, "Hey, Baralai's in his box. You can always go back to him."

"Don't remind me," Yuna moaned, "I was supposed to call and apologize to him last week. Luckily my father's out of town for the week."

"Here are our seats," Rikku said then. Yuna stomach churned slightly. These seats were horrible compared to Baralai's! She shook her head then, reminding herself that Tidus wouldn't be out there anyway. So what did it matter if they played well?

"Who are they playing?" Yuna asked.

"Besaid," Rikku said, laughing, "So Tidus could definitely afford to miss out on this game. They pretty much suck."

"Oh," Yuna just said, and she felt her eyes skim the crowd.

"Hey Yunie!" Rikku said then, "Look, there's Tidus!"

Sure enough, he was standing just a little ways away, talking to some students, and laughing about something or other.

"Cool," Yuna just said.

"I really wanna go talk to him!" Rikku said, "But look at the crowd around him! Yunie, why didn't you at least get his autograph for me? He's gonna be so famous someday!"

Tidus waved to the people he was talking to, and started heading up the stairs, right down Yuna and Rikku's row.

"Do you think he'll talk to you?" Rikku whispered to Yuna.

To answer her question, however, Tidus just went straight past them, and didn't acknowledge their existence at all.

"Aw, he must not have seen us!" Rikku cried.

Yuna simply looked at the ground. She knew he had seen them. He was simply avoiding them. No, avoiding her.

"It's such a shame he's not playing tonight," Rikku said, "He's so much fun to watch! Have you ever noticed how funny he is down there? I love it when he swears under his breath. It just makes me laugh. And when he gets a penalty, he gets so ticked. I think they had to talk to him about his anger issues, because once he slammed a ref out of the arena! It rocked though, 'cause the ref sucked. He got kicked out of the game though. Gippal told me that he thought it was pretty funny though."

"And there was this other time," Rikku continued although the last person Yuna wanted to talk about was Tidus, "where this player and Tidus were kind of bumping shoulders, and right after that, one of Tidus' linemen, probably Wakka—Have you ever met him? He's a sweetheart!—scored. Anyway, Tidus swam over to that guy that was bumping shoulders with him, and we were all like, "Uh-oh, here comes a fight!" because Tidus said something to him, but it almost like he just said, "Haha, who sucks now?" And then he swam off to congratulate his teammates."

"He sounds like quite the character," Yuna said sarcastically.

"Yunie, seriously, don't be so anti-Tidus!" Rikku said, "When it comes to blitzball, there ain't a better player!"

Yuna just shrugged. That was probably true.

"Yunie," Rikku said, shaking her head, "If Tidus came to me right now and was like, "Hey, let's have a one-night stand", I totally would. Any girl here would."

Yuna rolled her eyes. Her cousin simply didn't get it. There was more than just physical attraction. True, Tidus was a good looking guy. True, he probably would make a ton of gil someday. True, he was fun to watch out there. But something more tugged on her heart. She didn't know what it was. Perhaps his eyes, perhaps his smile…But even those were all physical traits. There was something more…Yuna's stomach began to ache. Love? Was it really love?

The game was getting close to beginning. The players soon came out, and Rikku jumped up and down, screaming for her team. Everybody around them was doing the same thing, jumping and dancing. Yuna found herself yearning for the quietness of Baralai's box.

Soon, the game started, and Yuna realized that nobody had seated themselves. Everybody was standing.

Yuna didn't feel like standing.

"Come on Yunie," Rikku urged her seemingly idle cousin, "You'll miss out on all the action!"

"You know," Yuna said, standing up, "I think I'll go get something from the concession stand. See you in a little bit."

"Alright," Rikku just said, as Yuna started up toward the concession stand.

Yuna sighed, for she didn't know what to do. She decided to simply go to the bathroom, and plan her next move from there. Coming to the game hadn't been the greatest idea.

To her surprise, there was quite a line for the bathroom. Sighing, Yuna decided at least it would take up time, and she leaned against the wall, waiting for her turn.

A girl came up behind her, who Yuna noticed right away was rather pretty. Her hair was loose and curly and her outfit was somewhat unique. It looked nice on her though.

"Wow, is this the line already?" the girl asked Yuna, "You'd think there wouldn't be this many people before the first period!"

"I know," Yuna said, laughing, "I was rather shocked."

"Do you go to school at the U of Bevelle?" she asked Yuna then.

"Oh, no," Yuna said, "I go to St. Maechan's."

"Oh, that's such a lovely school!" the girl said, "I got to its sister school, St. Yunalesca, in Zanarkand!"

"Oh really?" Yuna asked, for she did indeed know well of that school.

"Yeah!" the girl beamed, "I was between that school and St. Maechan's, but I decided to go to St. Yunalesca, because it was closer to home for me."

"That's what helped me make my choice too," Yuna said, smiling.

"Actually, I find Bevelle to be a really nice city," the girl said, "I love visiting here. My boyfriend goes to the U of Bevelle. I came to watch him play blitzball but…"

"Oh, your boyfriend is one of the players?" Yuna asked, "That sounds exciting!"

"Oh, it is!" she said, "Although I'm not very knowledgeable about the sport. My grandfather was a coach of some big team, but blitzball just never really interested me."

Yuna smiled and nodded, and said, "I just recently got into it. Were you at the Zanarkand game last weekend then?"

"I wanted to be," the girl said, "But I was just finishing a study-abroad program in Kilika!"

"Oh, what a shame," Yuna said, "You missed some pretty good games, on both sides."

The line ended then, and Yuna realized she was next for the open one.

"It was nice talking to you!" Yuna said, as she headed to the open bathroom.

"Yes, it made the line seem to take a lot less time!" the girl giggled, and she waved to Yuna.

Yuna smiled to herself, thinking of how nice and sweet that girl had been. She sighed, realizing how lucky that girl was. She was actually dating a player on the team. She wondered who it was then. She figured it was probably an older guy, a really good looking guy. A really nice and sweet and innocent and faithful guy. The kind of guy Yuna decided she needed.

Smiling, Yuna washed her hands and went back out, wondering if she should pick something up from the concession stand or if she simply wanted to go back to her seat.

Yuna drifted over by the concession stands, but decided against it, and started toward her seats. She stopped in her tracks then, when she realized who was standing in the hallway, talking to some lady.

It was of course, Tidus.

Yuna was about to turn around, when she heard Tidus say goodbye to the lady, and he headed toward her.

"Hey Yuna!" he greeted her, "I didn't know if you'd be coming!"

Yuna simply turned and faced him, and crossed her arms.

"I'm glad you got your knee looked at," she said, for she honestly was, "When do you think you'll be playing again."

"Hopefully tomorrow," he said, "Look, I can walk fine!" He walked a few steps, and then faced her again, with a huge, proud smile plastered across his face.

Yuna smiled despite the fact that she had tried not to, and said, "Well, I'm glad you're going to be okay."

"Me too," he agreed with her, "Who'd you come to the game with?"

"My cousin," Yuna answered.

Tidus smiled, and said, "That's nice."

"Well, I should go," Yuna said then, "I hope you get to play tomorrow!"

"Yuna, wait!" Tidus said, "Um, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"I-If it's about the other night, don't worry about it," Yuna said, forcing a smile, "I know you don't have 'girlfriends'."

"Uh…Actually," Tidus said, only to be interrupted by a voice from behind him.

"Tidey-poo, I brought you some beer!"

The two turned around, only to see that nice girl that Yuna had seen before.

"Oh, uh, thanks Dona," Tidus said, "But you know I can't drink it. I'm underage."

"When has that stopped you before?" the girl giggled, "Oh, hey! You're the girl I met in the bathroom!"

Yuna smiled a rather confused smile and said, "Um, yeah."

"Oh, you met?" Tidus said, and Yuna noticed a look of panic flew across his face.

"Kind of!" the girl said, and to Yuna's surprise, wrapped her arm around Tidus' waist, "But we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Dona, Tidus' girlfriend."

Yuna's body seemed to freeze. She looked at Tidus, who simply looked away from her, with the words 'busted' seemingly plastered across his forehead.

"Yeah, nice to meet you!" Yuna just cried, "I'm Yuna. I-I really have to get back to my seat now. Um, bye!"

She rushed off then, praying that Dona, and definitely not Tidus, had seen the tears that were now flooding from her eyes.

As she ran away, she heard Dona say, "She seems like such a nice girl!"

-

"Rikku, I think I'm going to leave," Yuna said, taking her seat next to her cousin.

"Why?" Rikku asked, shocked, "Did something happen?"

Yuna was doing her best to hide the fact that she was horribly upset.

"Well, no, I'm just…Not in the mood," Yuna finally finished.

"How can you not be?" Rikku cried, "We're up two-to-zero, and we've only just started!"

"I really think I'll just go," Yuna said, "You enjoy yourself though! Bye!"

She rushed off then, leaving her cousin to sit there, staring after her with a confused look spread across her face.

Yuna sharply turned, only to run right into someone. Embarrassed, she said a quick "I'm sorry", and started off.

"Uh, Yuna?"

She turned around, only to see that it was Baralai. Despite herself, she looked up at the ceiling. Could this night get any worse?"

"Hi Baralai," she just mustered, deciding she couldn't be a complete jerk.

"Yuna, I've been trying to get a hold of you all week!" he said, "I wanted to apologize."

Yuna bit her lip. She was not in the mood for this.

Baralai noticed she wasn't going to say anything, so he said, "I don't know why, but I just really got the feeling that you liked Tidus. But I should have trusted you."

_No you shouldn't have, _Yuna simply thought.

"It's alright," Yuna said, "I was acting like the moron, not you."

Baralai took a deep breath and said, "Do you want to start over?"

Yuna thought she was going to vomit. They hadn't even been going out for a week, had they? He made it sound like they'd been going out for years.

"Um Baralai?" Yuna just said, "Tonight's kind of not a good night. How about I'll be in touch with you sometime next week?"

"Alright," Baralai said with a shrug, "I guess I'll talk to you then."

"Yeah, bye!" Yuna said, and simply brushed him aside. All she wanted was to go to bed. She just wanted to sleep and wake up and have everything over with. All she knew though, was that she was through with blitzball. Maybe she understood why her father hated it. It seemed to be ruining her life.

-

She had really assumed that spring would be coming. It didn't seem that way, however, for snow was piling down as she walked to her car from her class.

She sighed loudly, for she realized that spring was probably no where in sight. Especially for her.

She had spent the last few days pondering on why she didn't tell someone. Why didn't she explain to Rikku that she was in love with Tidus? Why didn't she explain how Tidus had lied to her? Why didn't she explain why she felt the way she did? Unrequited love, but she couldn't tell…She couldn't speak of it. It couldn't be found out.

She suddenly heard a car horn, and she knew without looking who it was.

"Hey Yuna!" he said, slowing way down, "I'm glad I found you! Look, I really need to talk to you…"

Yuna simply ignored him, and kept walking.

"Yuna!" he cried, "You have to listen to me!"

He parked his car then, right in the middle of the street, and on the wrong side of the road, and jumped out, chasing after her.

"Yuna!" he cried again, catching up to her, "You gotta let me explain myself!"

Yuna simply kept ignoring him, although he was right there next to her.

"Come on Yuna, don't be like this!" he said, "I can really explain myself!"

"Tidus, it's alright," Yuna finally managed, "I get it. She's your girlfriend from Zanarkand. And she seems like a nice, sweet girl."

To her surprise, Tidus laughed and said, "Man does she have you fooled! Nice and sweet? Yeah right!"

Yuna looked at him confused, and his smile instantly faded.

"Look Yuna, she's like…my girlfriend but not really."

Yuna rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, because that makes sense."

"It's really complicated," Tidus said, "Isn't that what you told me about your relationship?"

"Well, mine was complicated," Yuna said, and she kept walking, still attempting to lose him.

"Mine's complicated too!" Tidus cried, "Trust me, it really is."

"How so?" Yuna asked him, crossing her arms.

"I don't…Know how to explain it!" Tidus said, "I swear though Yuna, she's not…She's not really my girlfriend."

"Tidus, if she's not your girlfriend, then what is she?" Yuna asked, "She seems to think you're her boyfriend. I guess she doesn't realize that you have other girls on the side, huh?"

Tidus looked like he didn't know what to say. Finally he scrunched his nose as if he were disgusted and said, "Fine, wanna know what she is?"

"Sure," Yuna said.

"She's not my girlfriend," Tidus said, crossing his own arms across his chest, "She's my fiancé."

Yuna stopped dead in her tracks, and she turned around to face Tidus, who had stopped.

"Oh, because that's so much better!" Yuna cried back at him, "Do me a favor and just leave me alone, okay?"

"Fine," Tidus said, "But I swear, it's a lot more complicated than that!"

"Whatever!" Yuna just yelled back at him.

"Y-Yuna!" Tidus yelled back to her, "W-Wait, are you going to this weekend's game?"

"No," Yuna answered.

"But it's the last one!" Tidus cried, "Well…Until the playoffs!"

He was getting further and further from her.

"That's alright, you have fun!" Yuna simply cried at him.

He didn't say anything. He just stood back there, looking completely and utterly defeated.


	10. The Unwanted Emotions

Okay guys, this one's a little early. It's because I didn't want to have to update on Monday and Wednesday, because I have class those nights. Plus, you guys are all so sweet in your reviews that I thought why not get this chapter out quick? Plus I had it written, so...yeah, why not?

You know, there's really a lot I want to say about this fic. It hasn't turned out exactly how I pictured it to, but the inspiration I have for it is really apparent to me. Usually it's kind of like, "Wow, my inspiration is telling me to make a sad chapter, so here comes a sad chapter." A lot of this (but not all--please keep that in mind! Haha...) is based off of real experiences. I don't feel like I've gotten the emotion across though, although perhaps I've gotten some of it out there. Tidus is like a love-at-first-sight kind of thing. But at the same time, there's something about him (the fact that he's a great blitzball player) that seems off-limits to Yuna. She gets almost star-struck. But then she realizes that she would do anything to be around him, and when she gets the chances, she wants to be with him. Even still, there's something that makes Yuna feel unable to actually be anything more to Tidus than a one-night kind of thing. Which is why she acts the way she kind of acts for most of this chapter. (Wow, LONG explanation, huh? Did that even make sense?) I really wanted this to be played off as if Yuna knows what she's doing with Tidus is wrong, but she can't keep herself from just going for it, know what I mean? And perhaps it'll actually pay off...But only perhaps...

Anyway, sorry to bore you all to tears with the long introduction. As if this chapter wasn't long enough! Haha... Well, enjoy!

Chapter 10: The Unwanted Emotions

"Seriously Tidus, if you don't pick yourself out of this dump, we're going to lose tomorrow," Gippal yawned and threw another chip in his mouth. The two were watching the sphere, although Tidus wasn't really into it.

"If it's over a girl, call her and make-up," Gippal continued, "'cause the game is more important than some chick, right?"

"It's not a chick," Tidus just mumbled.

"Than what is it?"

Tidus pouted. His friend knew him too well.

"This is unlike you," Gippal just continued, not waiting for Tidus to answer, "Whether it's a girl or not, you've never been down before. What gives? It's the last game, you know. We gotta win it for the seniors."

Tidus nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess…"

"So don't be so down," Gippal said, although Gippal's voice wasn't as bright as before.

"Gip, did you know I have a fiancé?" Tidus asked his friend.

Gippal laughed and said, "Okay, sure Ti."

"No really," Tidus said again, "I do have one. Her name's Dona."

"The girl you were with last weekend?" Gippal asked.

"Yeah," Tidus said.

"Dude, she's a bad influence," Gippal said, "I was getting ticked 'cause she kept shoving alcohol down your throat. Yevon, could you imagine how pissed Coach would be if he found out?"

"She's my fiancé," Tidus said again, "She's been my fiancé since I was like seven years old."

"No way," Gippal said, "Like a forced marriage?"

"Yeah, her grandpa was my old man's coach or something. My dad told him that I would marry his granddaughter if he would up my dad in the rankings."

"Well your dad's dead, and I'm sure her granddad is too," Gippal just said, "It was probably a stupid drunken bet."

"Yeah but she thinks we're gettin' married soon," Tidus said, "Even though I told her we couldn't get married until we were a lot older."

"Tell her you're not," Gippal said, and he laughed, "Are you serious? This sounds a little crazy, Tidus."

"I wish I was just making it," Tidus simply moaned.

"Whatever," Gippal said, "But you gotta get your mind off of it. That's upsetting though, about your 'fiancé'. I mean, what about Yuna, or whatever her name is?"

"Yuna who?" Tidus just said, and he scrunched down in his chair.

"I talk to her cousin a lot," Gippal said, "Apparently Yuna has the hots for you."

"Who doesn't?" Tidus said, rolling his eyes.

"True," Gippal said, "But you got the hots for her, don't you?"

"No," Tidus said.

"Dude, don't lie," Gippal said, shaking his head, "I know you too well."

Tidus sighed, and sat up in the chair, and said, "She won't come to the last game, Gip. And she wouldn't give me a chance to explain myself."

Gippal laughed and said, "So? Just forget about her. She's not your fiancé, and you just said you didn't like her or anything…"

"Shut-up Gippal," Tidus cried, "You know I like her!"

Gippal laughed again and said, "Then stop denying it!"

"Isn't it too weird?" Tidus asked, "B-Besides, I can't like her. You know what I mean."

Gippal's eyes dimmed, and he nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said, "I do know what you mean…"

-

"Come on Yunie, it's the last home game!" Rikku cried, causing Yuna to hold the phone far from her ear, "This is your last chance to see a game with these guys!"

"Seriously Rikku, I don't know who's called more, Baralai or you," Yuna said, rolling her eyes, "Baralai's been begging me, you've been begging me, and…" She trailed. Hadn't Tidus seemingly begged her as well?

"Then what's holding you back?" Rikku cried, "What do you have to do on Friday that's better than a blitzball game?"

"I've had my share of blitzball," Yuna simply stated.

"Just because of moronic Tidus?" Rikku cried, "Forget him Yunie! Forget him and come enjoy the game!"

Yuna sighed and said softly, "Actually Rikku, I think I will be there."

"Great!" Rikku said.

"My dad's making me go with Baralai," Yuna said with a sigh, "So we can patch things up."

"Oh," Rikku said, sounding disappointed, "Well, come see me anyway! I'll introduce you to some of my friends!"

"Okay," Yuna said, "So I'll see you then. Bye."

She hung up then, and took a deep breath. It was true. She had come home from school just the day before—the day she had seen Tidus—only to find that Baralai was there, talking to her father.

From there, her father had forced her to apologize to Baralai, and had made her agree to go with the game on Friday. He didn't understand though. No one did.

Finding herself pouting, although she knew it wouldn't do her any good, she went up to her room, and closed the door tightly behind her.

She wanted to move one. She had to move on. Yuna laughed to herself and sat down on her bed. Surely she was losing it.

She looked up then, only to see the jersey sitting across from her on her dresser. She stood up and walked over to it, looking at it thoughtfully, as she had so many times. She traced Tidus' signature with her finger, and then pounded her fist on it. She then took it and threw it across the room, and angrily sat down on her bed.

She laid back then, and said softly to herself, "First chance I get, I'm selling that thing."

With that, she attempted to take a nap.

-

If things had been awkward before, things were even more awkward now. Baralai sat a little ways away from Yuna, and she sat a little ways away from him. They had barely uttered a word to each other, either.

Yuna knew she was expected to apologize. For some reason, she couldn't manage to do it, even though she honestly had been wrong. She had been very wrong to do what she had done, and she needed to tell Baralai that, for her own good.

She had played it over in her mind the night before. She was going to tell Baralai how sorry she was, and hope that by doing that, she would move away from Tidus. Now that she was actually there, however, she couldn't bring herself to tell him. She just couldn't.

Part of her worried…She was afraid to let Tidus go.

Shaking her head, Yuna knew she was still being foolish. She just wished she would learn.

Baralai turned to Yuna then, and said, "It's kind of sad that this is the last game already. Well, besides play-offs. This is the last time we'll see a lot of these guys."

Yuna looked out, but realized she didn't really know anyone out there except for Tidus and Gippal.

"That is sad," Yuna admitted, "But that's how it is, right?"

"Right," Baralai said, "But it gets kind of…Emotional, know what I mean? For the players down there."

Yuna looked down into the sphere, and felt herself nod. There was probably much more to it.

"This will be Tidus' last weekend here too," Baralai said then, and he was seemingly watching Yuna's expressions.

"Huh?" Yuna said, looking confused despite herself.

"After the season," Baralai said, "He's off to Zanarkand. To play professionally."

"Oh, I guess I knew that," Yuna said softly, for she had. She had just managed to forget, "I doubt he is very emotional though," Yuna said, shrugging.

She bit her lip then. She knew that this was when she had to apologize.

"Look Baralai," she said very softly, "I'm sorry. I got really caught up in everything. Tidus gave me attention, and I welcomed it. I'm really sorry."

Baralai just gave her a smile, and said, "It's alright. It's not like you two did anything, right?"

Yuna was silent, for perhaps too long, before she finally said, "Right."

Baralai didn't seem satisfied. He leaned his elbow on the window and rested his head in his hand.

"What does he have that I don't?" Baralai managed.

Yuna looked at the ground. She almost felt sorry for the guy. Perhaps he really did like her?

"I don't know," Yuna said, "Nothing, I'm sure. He's a jerk, like you said. He has a fiancé, you know, but he wouldn't tell anybody that. He'll lie, and he's completely unfaithful to his really nice fiancé!"

"Sounds like him," Baralai just said, "But even I didn't know he had a fiancé."

"Oh, he does," Yuna said, rolling her eyes, "And she's really nice, too. She goes to St. Yunalesca."

"You seem to know a lot about her," Baralai said.

"I met her," Yuna said, "Last weekend."

"Oh," Baralai just said, "And Tidus is the one that told you she was his fiancé?"

"No…Well…" Yuna trailed. It had been Tidus, actually…

Silence fell on the two then, so Yuna decided to focus her attention on the game. Not on Tidus, but on the game. The Basilisks were working hard, and the game was scored one-to-one.

"It'd be really awesome if we could pull out a win," Baralai said, glancing up at the scoreboard.

"Hey, what's wrong with Gippal?" Yuna suddenly asked, for she noticed that a guy had just gone past him, and Gippal was cradling his hand. As soon as those words had left Yuna's mouth, Tidus came from no where, and jumped on the guy that had just hit Gippal.

Everybody seemed to stand there, and before long, the entire team was fighting, while Gippal still cradled his hand. The water was turning red around Gippal.

"His hand's cut," Baralai said, and both he and Yuna were standing, staring awestruck at the fight.

Yuna looked quickly at the giant screen, only to see Gippal swimming off, while blood gushed from a giant cut in his hand.

"That doesn't look good," Baralai murmured.

Yuna immediately turned her attention back to the fights that had broke out.

"Why don't the refs stop them?" Yuna cried, for she noticed that Tidus was still beating hard on the guy.

"It looks like they're trying," Baralai said.

The refs sure enough had broken up most of the fighting, except for Tidus. Yuna noticed blood was now coming from the seemingly helpless guy that Tidus was pummeling.

The ref finally pulled Tidus away from the guy, only to have Tidus jump back on him.

"What happened?" Yuna asked.

"I don't know," Baralai said, shaking his head, "How did Gippal's hand get cut?"

The ref and Tidus were now arguing, and the guy that Tidus had been beaten had to be assisted out of the water by his teammates.

"What is going on?" Yuna asked, and she noticed that most of those in the stands too were looking around confused.

"Uh…Play will be resumed shortly!" the announcer's voice suddenly boomed, "First though, penalties have been assessed to…"

"That has to be a record for penalties," Baralai said, cutting him off, "Maybe they'll tell what happened."

"And Tidus will be getting a five-minute major as well as an expulsion from the game."

"That means he won't be able to play tomorrow either," Baralai said, shaking his head, "We really need him."

"Where is he now?" Yuna asked.

"In the locker room no doubt," Baralai said.

"What about Gippal?" Yuna asked.

"Looks to me like he may have severed a tendon," Baralai said with a shrug, "He'll be heading off to the hospital."

"Will Tidus go with him?"

"Why would he do that?" Baralai asked.

"They're like best friends!" Yuna said. She felt like she was going crazy. What had just happened? How had Gippal's hand gotten severed? Why had Tidus jumped on that guy like he had? Why had Tidus beat that guy like he had?

"He has to stay there," Baralai just said, "Yuna, where are you going?"

Yuna hadn't even realized it, but she had grabbed her handbag, and was already halfway to the door.

She stopped, however, upon hearing Baralai's voice, and said, "I want to find out what happened. I'm going to go ask Rikku. Maybe she saw something."

Baralai simply stood there, and he sighed and said, "Do you really like him that much?"

Yuna just shook her head, attempting to look confused, and she said, "I'll be back soon."

With that, she ran out of the box.

-

She figured it was very against the rules for her to see Tidus when he was supposed to be in trouble, but she didn't care. If it hurt him any, she would do whatever she could to right things again.

She had forgotten her anger with him, and the fact that she needed to forget about him.

She ran down the hallways to the locker room, shocked that she knew the way as well as she did. She had only been there twice… Or had it been more? She couldn't even remember.

Yuna didn't knock or anything. She simply burst into the locker room, only to stop dead in her tracks in the doorway.

Tidus was kicking a locker, and she noticed that many were dented.

"T-Tidus!" she said, "Stop that!"

He did, and he turned around to face her, and then he sank to his knees.

"He didn't even get a penalty!" he cried, "Did you see what he did?"

Yuna walked up to the blitzball player, wondering if he had lost his mind. She bent down next to him, and said, "I didn't see Tidus. What did he do?"

"He pulled out a knife," Tidus said, "And he cut his hand. But no one saw! The cameras weren't on it or anything!"

"Can't Gippal tell what he did?"

"He didn't see either," Tidus said miserably, "The refs are out to get us anyway."

"Won't your coach get mad? Can't he argue it?"

Tidus looked at the ground and said, "Even if that guy does get thrown out, even if it's for life, it doesn't change what happened. Gippal's gonna be out for a long time. And I'll never get to play here again."

Tidus was pouting, Yuna realized, and he looked like he was about to cry.

"Why are you here anyway?" Tidus asked her then, "I thought you weren't coming."

"I don't know why I'm here," Yuna said softly, "If you don't want me here, I'll leave."

"N-No," Tidus said, "I'm glad you're here."

Yuna gave him a small smile, but he didn't return her smile. In fact, he didn't even see her smile.

"I have to play tomorrow," he said, "I have to!"

"It's alright Tidus," Yuna said, attempting to calm him down, "As long as you're here for the play-offs. That's the important thing, right?"

"What about Gippal," he just said, shaking his head, "He'll never be able to play again!"

"Sure he will," Yuna said, smiling.

"Not with me!" Tidus cried, "These were our last games together, and now he's… I'm gonna find that guy, and I'm gonna kill him."

"Tidus!" Yuna said, "Relax, it's alright. You don't know that Gippal is seriously injured!"

Tidus leaned back and said, "You don't understand, Yuna. This is my last few games with these guys! Ever. I will never play with them again. Ever. And now I don't even get to play. Gippal is my best friend. And we can't even play together. Because of that shit-head."

Yuna could tell there was even more Tidus wanted to say. He had his lip curved under his front teeth and was chomping down hard on it. His eyebrows were pushed forward, and never had she seen him look so upset, so confused.

"At least I beat the living shit outta him," Tidus finally said, and then punched a locker again, causing a loud crushing sound to omit from it.

Yuna bit her own lip, only much softer, and said, "Tidus, I have to go back."

"Y-You really don't want to hear me out?" Tidus asked, sounding very surprised, "I swear to Yevon Yuna, I can explain everything."

"It's alright," Yuna said, "I already messed up once. I can't mess up again."

Tidus shook his head and said, "Just a quick dinner Yuna, that's all I'm asking for. I promise. I promise I won't go back on my word!"

"Baralai and I are back together," Yuna said, "And it has to be that way. I have to go, Tidus."

She gave him a little wave, and then turned around, and started toward the door, attempting to feel proud of herself.

She heard Tidus swallow loudly, and he said, "Alright, go. I can't stop you. But you should know that I'm…I'm really happy you came. I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Yuna stopped and looked back at him. Their eyes met, and Tidus continued, without looking away, "I tried to convince myself that you meant nothing to me, but I know that's not the truth. I really…I really like you, Yuna. A lot."

Yuna managed to keep herself firm, and she said, "That may be, but you have a fiancé, and I have a boyfriend."

"We can get rid of both of them," Tidus said, and Yuna noticed her curved his fingers into a fist, and determination shone in his eyes, "Everything else is gone now. I don't want to lose you too. I'll get rid of her."

"But she's so sweet!" Yuna cried, now fighting to retain herself, "You can't just do that to her Tidus! And Baralai—he's never done anything to deserve how I treat him!"

"Dona isn't sweet!" Tidus said, "You don't know her, Yuna! And Baralai, do you even like that guy? There. There's a reason for not treating him like a boyfriend. If you don't like him, don't date him. It's as simple as that. I realize that now. Why can't you?"

Yuna swallowed, and said, "Because I can't trust you."

"Why not?" Tidus cried, "When have I ever lied to you?"

"You told me you never had a girlfriend!" Yuna said, now fighting back tears, "You really broke my heart, Tidus!"

Tidus shook his head with a small smile on his lips and said, "I didn't lie Yuna. I have never had a girlfriend. Dona isn't my girlfriend. She's my fiancé. In my case, that's a huge difference. It was an arranged marriage Yuna. Arranged by my drunken-ass father and her dick-wad of a grandfather. That's all."

Now tears really were threatening to fall. Yuna swallowed and said, "Why couldn't you have just told me that?"

"You didn't give me the chance to!" Tidus said, "It's…It's something I've never really told anybody. Except for Gippal, but I don't think he believed me anyway. And you probably don't either…"

"I want to…" Yuna simply trailed.

"Then do," Tidus said, taking a step closer to her, "I have nothing to lose, Yuna. My best friend is in the hospital, and I can't do anything to help him. I can't play for the rest of this game or tomorrow's, and this was my last time playing with these guys here. It's really emotional, you know? I have never had friends until these guys. I don't want to leave them. But I have to, because let's face it, I'm not smart enough to do anything but play blitz. It's what I've been training for since before I could walk. I have to do it. Why the hell would I lie to you? To get you in bed with me? I already accomplished that. I could be with anybody out there in those stands. Why would I go through all this trouble just to lull you to bed again?"

Yuna shook her head. She didn't want to believe him. She did believe him, but she didn't want to. She had finally managed to accept what had happened, and what was going to happen. Now everything was flipping back again, in her favor. Why couldn't she simply accept it as the truth and go from there?

Tears began to well in her eyes and she said, "I believe you Tidus, I really do. But it's…Not as easy as believing."

Tidus looked defeated, but only momentarily. He looked up at the ceiling, as in thought, before finally looking down and saying, "Then make it as easy as that."

Yuna opened her mouth. She couldn't just do that, could she?

Without warning, Tidus took a step even closer to her, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into an embrace. She couldn't move, couldn't fight, but she also couldn't bring herself to hug him back.

"I'm not going to let you go," Tidus said, "You just have to accept that."

Yuna wanted to return the embrace. With her tears finally giving way and falling down her cheek, she finally managed to put her arms around him as well.

"Alright," she said, trying not to let Tidus tell that she was crying, "I'm yours."

The two heard the door open to the locker room, and Yuna waited for Tidus to jump away from her, but he didn't. He just held onto her tighter, and she did as well.

Tidus, who was facing the door, loosened his grip on her then, and he said, "The game must have ended. We just shocked a freshman from the team. I guess you'd better go before the rest of the team gets here."

"Alright," Yuna said, giving him a meek little smile.

"Wait for me outside," Tidus said, smiling a little smile, "I promise I won't be long."

"Alright," Yuna said again, and she then headed quickly out the door, and into the snow that was falling down lightly.


	11. The Unwanted Wait

You guys, I don't know what to do! I really think I could end this story right here and right now! ...But I don't feel like it's the ending. But I'm running out of ideas! And I don't want to fill this story with nothingness...What do you guys think? Do you want me to try to pull some ideas out of nowhere and put them in here? Or do you just want me to end it? OR, do you want me to take a little break until I think of something? Because I'm really at a loss...

Well, you guys enjoy, and tell me what you want! Haha...

Chapter 11: The Unwanted Wait

"When will you know how Gippal is?" Yuna asked, although she was unsure if she really wanted to bring that up again.

"Hopefully soon," Tidus said, "But they caught the guy, you know. Turns out, he was trying to cut me, but the dumbass didn't know which one I was. He saw the seven on Gip's twenty-seven, and thought it was my thirty-seven." Tidus sighed then, and said, "I would have rather he got me."

"Don't say that," Yuna said, "You said it yourself, if you couldn't play blitzball, then you couldn't do anything…"

Tidus chuckled very softly to himself and said, "But would that be such a bad thing?"

"You don't want to play?" Yuna asked then, shocked.

"It's not that exactly…" Tidus said, "It's just that…I don't want to leave this team. I've only been here two years, and I've grown really attached to all the guys. This is the most fun I've ever had playing blitz. And now it's over."

"Don't you still have the playoffs?" Yuna asked then.

"Yeah, but not at home," Tidus said, "Those are played in Zanarkand, in the arena that will be my home next year."

Yuna looked at the ground. Somehow she always seemed to manage to forget that Tidus would be in Zanarkand the next year. With Dona…

"Tidus," Yuna said, looking away from him, "Y-You don't have to break up with Dona if you don't want to. E-Even if you still want me, I'll be okay even if you don't break up with her."

Tidus laughed and said, "Oh, believe me, I want to break up with her. Badly. Are you going to go to the playoffs?"

"I don't know if I'll be able to," Yuna said, trailing.

"Well, either way, Dona will be here tomorrow. While I'm sitting out, I'll break up with her. You can even come with if you don't believe me."

Yuna laughed and said, "Isn't it mean to make her come all the way here if you're just going to break up with her?"

"No," Tidus said, "She comes here anyway to visit her cousin."

"Oh," Yuna said, "Won't she be embarrassed in front of her cousin if you break up with her?"

Tidus shook his head and said, "Her cousin hates blitzball and hates me, so I don't think it really matters."

"So they still won't let you play tomorrow?" Yuna asked, for she knew Tidus was very disappointed.

"Yeah," Tidus said, "They said I still shouldn't have fought. How could I not? I guess that guy looks pretty rough. At least he's out for the rest of the season."

Silence fell then, and Tidus said, "You have no idea how pissed off I am about Gippal. Who does something like that?"

"They obviously thought you were a huge threat," Yuna said, "But I guess in a way, their plan worked."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Tidus said, "You know, I really lost myself out there. I've never hit someone like that. Ever. I seriously wanted to kill him."

"At least your team still won," Yuna said, "All of that cheating and you guys still beat them!"

"Yeah," Tidus said, giving her a little smile, "I guess they team may be alright without me next year, huh?"

"When exactly do you leave?" Yuna asked.

"About a month exactly," Tidus said.

"What? You mean you won't even be finishing out the year?" Yuna asked, shocked.

"No," Tidus said, "I have to start practicing with the team as soon as possible."

"Oh," Yuna simply said softly, "So you'll be all the way in Zanarkand…"

"All the way? It's only like three hours," Tidus said, "You know, when I first came here, I really thought…I really thought I would hate it. You know, I'm not the biggest guy, so everybody assumed I sucked, and assumed that I was overrated, you know, since I was everybody's first pick for scouting. So when Gippal found out I was gonna room with him, he was ticked. He nor anybody else wanted anything to do with me, even though they were all freshmen too." Tidus laughed upon recalling these memories, and said, "I went through so much shit my first couple of days."

Yuna smiled and said, "Like what?"

"Like no one would talk to me. I would come into the locker room, and everybody would stop talking. It would be dead silent in there. The freshmen hated me, the sophomores hated me, the juniors hated me, and the seniors definitely hated me."

"How did you get them to stop hating you?" Yuna asked.

"You see," Tidus said, leaning toward her as if he had something exciting to tell her, "They all thought I was either overrated, like I said, or really good and could kick their asses any time I wanted too—which I could—and they figured I would just show 'em up. So on about the fifth day of practice, every time I got the ball, I'd pass it. It didn't matter if they were even open. I'd make sure to pass the ball to them. I could have a wide open shot on the goal, but I would still pass it. I would work really hard to get that ball away from the opponent, and then I would just pass it. Always.

"Soon, they began to count on me. I was the one that assisted all the goals. My first year, guess how many goals I made?"

"I have no idea," Yuna responded.

"Five," Tidus said, "Guess how many I've made this year?"

"Um…Ten?"

"Thirty," Tidus said, "With quite a few of 'em being unassisted and shortys, as in short-handed goals. But before I could do that, I had to prove to the team that I was a team player, not some selfish spoiled kid."

Yuna couldn't help but smile. He seemed so proud of himself, as if he had accomplished something very large.

"Soon," Tidus said, "The team began to depend on me. They needed me, ya know? Gip and I became really good friends, and…Well, I got to be friends with pretty much everybody. True, it was kinda hard sittin' there while all my teammates shoved as much alcohol down their throats, while going, "No Tidus, you can't have any. We can all get caught, but you can't: we need you." That was definitely hard…"

Tidus' eyes began to dim then, and he shrugged and said, "So now…I feel like I'm lettin' 'em all down. They all congratulated me, you know, on beating that guy up, and told me not to worry about it, but I can't help but feel upset about the whole deal."

"I know," Yuna said, "It's disappointing."

Tidus gave a little smile, although Yuna wondered if he was trying to hold back tears.

"These guys became the best friends I ever had," Tidus said, "And I'm not sure I want to leave them."

"Then don't," Yuna said, smiling, "Can't Zanarkand wait a little longer?"

Tidus looked as if he was going to say something, but he closed his mouth and then shook his head, saying, "Gippal's injury made that really obvious. I could get hurt, and then there go my chances of playing pro. My knee was a big enough deal. Gip could be out forever, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Yuna said, nodding.

Tidus smiled then, and said, "I just gotta get the team all the way through the playoffs, and to the finals. We're gonna be number one, and I'll get the keep playing all the way through March! That's all there is to it!"

Yuna smiled too, and said, "I know you guys can do it."

"Me too," Tidus said, "But it's not gonna be easy."

"I really want to go," Yuna mused, "I'll try really hard to go, okay?"

Tidus nodded, and then said, "When I go to Zanarkand, to play, I…I won't have much time to myself. It'll be all playing and nothing but, you know?"

Yuna nodded and said, "Right, you'll probably be practicing a lot."

"Which means," Tidus continued, "That for a good couple of years, I'll be too busy to come visit. I won't be able to see my teammates, I won't be able to come back and watch them, and I won't be able to see you…"

"…Right," Yuna said again. Why was he telling her this? Why now?

"When I'm gone," Tidus continued, "I still want to be with you. But I can't."

Yuna nodded. Things were beginning to come together for her. This was his way of telling her that he really wasn't hers, but she could still be his. Of course, had she really honestly expected it to be any different?

Noticing Yuna wasn't going to say anything, Tidus smiled at her, and said, "Someday things'll die down. If you don't mind waiting, we can be together then."

Of course she could wait.

"Alright," Yuna said, "But you promise? If I wait, everything will work out alright?"

"Well sure," Tidus said, "If you don't mind being stuck with a professional blitzball player and living in Zanarkand."

Yuna smiled and said, "I don't mind."

Of course, she knew her father would never allow that. But she didn't care. It didn't matter.

"Great," Tidus said. The two smiled shyly at each other, before Tidus said, "Well, it's getting kind of late…Do you need me to take you home?"

"Sure," Yuna said.

"You coming to tomorrow's game?" Tidus asked, looking hopeful.

"Do you want me there with your fiancé?" Yuna asked.

"Yeah," Tidus said, "I do."

"Okay," Yuna said, "Then I'll come."

-

Yuna drove separately to the game that night, being that Tidus had told her that he was meeting Dona for dinner. As Yuna walked into the arena, she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She was the girl that was going to cause Dona to be upset—a girl she had only barely met, and a girl who had done nothing to her.

Yuna tried to imagine how she would feel if Tidus were to break a wedding off just because he had found some other girl. She knew she wouldn't feel good. Was it fair to Dona?

Yuna's stomach ached, actually, for she then remembered that she had told Baralai she would return to him. Of course, she hadn't. So many hearts she had broken…

She tried not to think this way. She was victorious, was she not? He was hers. Or for as much as she could tell.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to go and see Rikku, being that Tidus said he would call her once he entered, although he warned her that he would be surrounded by people.

"Yunie!" Rikku greeted her as soon as she came into view of her cousin, "I totally didn't know you were coming tonight!"

"I'm here," Yuna said, shrugging.

"Ick, with Baralai?" Rikku asked, "Did you see what happened to Gippal yesterday? Oh my Yevon, I am so pissed off!"

"Yeah, me too," Yuna said, "And actually, I'm not here with Baralai."

"You're not?" Rikku asked, looking behind her cousin, "Who are you here with then?"

Yuna smiled a little smile and said, "Tidus."

"Nuh-uh," Rikku said, nudging her cousin, "I just saw him walk past here."

"He's not here yet," Yuna said, shaking her head, "You must have seen someone else."

"Oh no, it was him," Rikku said surely, "And he had some chick on his arm that I had never seen before."

Yuna's heart fell.

"What did she look like?" Yuna asked quickly.

"Hmm…She had short brown hair and a really short skirt on. I figure she must be freezing! It's snowing out as we speak!"

"That can't be," Yuna said, "She must just be some crazy fan."

"Yeah, but she was pretty much all over him, and he didn't seem to mind. It made all of us pretty jealous," Rikku continued, nodding to all of the girls that she was sitting with.

"That can't be…" Yuna said again, trailing, "Where is he now?"

"I have no idea," Rikku said, "Over there somewhere. Just look for a crowd, and it's probably him."

"I swear Rikku, he told me…" Yuna's heart began to fall. What he had told her and what the truth was probably weren't the same thing.

"I could be wrong," Rikku said then quickly, "Maybe it wasn't him and maybe that girl wasn't with him…"

"He told me he was breaking up with his girlfriend," Yuna said, "And that he would call me as soon as he got here."

"Well, maybe he did and it's just a stupid girl latched to him," Rikku said, "In the meantime, wanna have a seat?"

Yuna was just about to sit down, when Rikku suddenly said, "Wait, he's right over there, Yunie! See him?"

Yuna looked, and sure enough, there was Tidus. And of course, there was Dona, latched tightly on his arm.

Anger began to boil within Yuna. How could he have lied to her like that? Swallowing, Yuna didn't even say goodbye to her cousin, but instead marched back up the stairs. She was going to get to him and give him a piece of her mind.

When Yuna reached the section Tidus was in, however, Dona was no where in sight. That didn't keep Yuna from feeling angry, though.

"Tidus, I need to talk to you," Yuna said through gritted teeth, pushing her way through the crowd that had gathered around Tidus.

Tidus looked surprised to see her, as if he wasn't expecting her, and said, "I'll talk to you all later. I gotta…Uh…"

"Take care of your girl problems?" a younger boy, perhaps a fifteen-year-old, finished for him.

"Yeah," Tidus just said, nodding.

Yuna waited for the crowd to leave, before saying, "My cousin said you're here with Dona? Did you not break up with her?"

"Huh?" Tidus asked, and then he looked away sheepishly and said, "Not yet. I couldn't, you know…"

"Why not?" Yuna demanded, "Look, Baralai's right up there. I can still go apologize to him and fix everything. If that's how it is Tidus, I understand. If you love Dona and if you want her, that's fine."

Suddenly, Yuna began to tear. She forced herself not to cry though, but she felt herself growing weak.

"And if you want me on the side, that's fine too," Yuna finished, closing her eyes. A mistress? Was that really what she wanted?

To her surprise, Tidus laughed, and he said, "I don't want either of those options, Yuna. I'll break up with her right now."

"Huh?" Yuna asked, and a wave of relief went through her. Of course, she knew that he could still be making things up.

"Oh Tidey!" Yuna then heard from behind her, just as a smiling Dona came up the stairs, "I got you the largest beer possible!"

"Dona, I told you, I'm underage," Tidus said, just as he had the last time Yuna had met Dona, "And besides…There's something I have to tell you."

"What?" Dona asked, and she pushed Yuna aside to get closer to him, "And who is she?"

Did she really not remember her? Yuna felt hurt, even though she was unsure of why she should feel that way.

Tidus licked his lips and said, "Dona, it's over between us. I don't want to get married, and I don't care what kind of deal my old man made with your granddad. It's over, Dona."

"You can't do that!" Dona cried, "We're engaged!" She flashed a large diamond in Tidus' face, "Remember?"

"I was drunk when I bought that," Tidus said, "And seventeen! You're kidding, right?"

Dona pouted, and looked like she was going to cry. Yuna simply looked at the ground. She felt horrible. Should she jump in and say that she would just leave? Dona and Tidus could get married, and things would be happy.

Before Yuna could react, however, Dona suddenly threw the beer in Tidus' face, made a huffing noise, and started off.

"That's fine with me!" she cried back to him as she walked off, "I already have men lined up for me anyway."

Yuna put her hand over her mouth. For some reason, she wanted to laugh, probably because Tidus' face was dripping from the beer.

Tidus just laughed though, before Yuna could, and shook his head, as if to dry it.

"She's so immature," he said, laughing, "But that was easy enough, huh?"

Yuna finally laughed and said, "I can't believe she did that!"

People around them were laughing and patting Tidus on the shoulder, and Yuna could only smile. He was going to be good at being famous.

"I gotta go," Tidus said then, to the people around him, "I better go wipe my face or something." Everybody laughed, and Tidus smiled and walked off, nodding at Yuna for her to follow him.

She did as told, and as soon as they made it into the mostly-empty lobby, Tidus took her hand and led her into the men's bathroom.

"Tidus!" Yuna cried, "I can't go in there."

"No one's in there!" Tidus said, dragging her in despite the fact that she was protesting.

As soon as they were in there, he pushed her against the wall and kissed her. Yuna allowed him to do so for only a second, before she pushed him away.

"Don't," she said, "You reek of beer."

"Shut-up," he said, laughing, "It's not my fault."

"You better get that cleaned up," Yuna said, "Since Gippal's not here to boss you around, I guess I'll have to. You don't want to have people think you've been drinking. Especially before the playoffs!"

Tidus laughed and walked over to a sink, where he proceeded to wash his face.

"How is Gippal, by the way?" Yuna asked, walking up next to him.

"Alright," Tidus said, "He's scheduled for surgery tomorrow. He's out the rest of the season, but he'll be back. It's a cut tendon, but the doctor says he'll be ready for next year."

"That's good," Yuna said smiling, "Is he disappointed?"

"Yeah," Tidus said, "But he'll get over it. He was just glad I kicked the shit outta that guy."

Yuna smiled and said, "Me too."

"Really? I figured you'd be all pacifist on me."

"Nah, I was really glad you attacked that guy. It shocked me, but I'm glad you did it."

"Me too," Tidus agreed, "Even if it meant I had to sit out. It was worth it."

Yuna simply smiled, and he smiled back at her.

"Well then," he said, "Let's go back to the game."

He offered his arm to her, and Yuna took it, and the two marched out, ignoring the looks that people gave them upon seeing them exit the men's restroom together.


	12. The Unwanted Sight

Okay, I apologize immensely for the long wait! I didn't start working on this chapter until yesterday, and just finished it up quickly today. Haha, I totally got the inspiration for it from a dream I had a few nights ago, and from a rumor that popped up yesterday. (Hehe, yesterday was such a good day, in my own real-life version of 'Number Thirty-Seven'.) Anyway, I'll be out of town this weekend, starting tomorrow morning. So don't expect an update until Sunday or Monday, depending on if anything inspiring happens over the weekend. XD Well, enjoy!

Chapter 12: The Unwanted Sight

"Things aren't gonna be easy without ya, Gip," Tidus said, shaking his head, "I got some idiot on my line now…Did you know we had a Datto on our team?"

"He's been out all year with injuries," Gippal said, re-wrapping his hand, "Don't you kind of remember him?"

"Nope, not at all," Tidus said, "Say Yuna, did you get it cleared so you can come to the game this weekend?"

Yuna smiled, and nodded. She hadn't, but she had decided that she was going to go no matter what anybody told her.

Gippal looked at the two of them, and then smiled and said, "Alright, you kiddies want some alone time?"

"Gippal!" Tidus moaned, "We're the same age as you!"

Yuna laughed, for she always forgot that it was true—Gippal was the same age as them.

"Wanna hear a story?" Gippal asked, his question directed toward Yuna.

Yuna nodded and said, "Sure."

"When we first came here…" Gippal began.

"No, don't tell her!" Tidus cried, putting his hands over his ears.

"When we first came here," Gippal repeated himself, "The entire team got here the night before our first practice, except for Tidus. So we all met each other, and were wondering who this 'ace' player was that was supposedly coming. Imagine what we thought when this shrimp showed up." Gippal gave Tidus a noogie, which Tidus did not appreciate at all.

"Coach introduced him," Gippal continued, "And we were all like, 'no way that's the ace from Zanarkand!', and then, since Tidus here thinks he's a genius, he didn't even try or anything. Which made us think he was stuck up."

"I was getting your respect!" Tidus cried.

"Then, at the end of the first practice," Gippal said, ignoring Tidus, we all got matched up with a roommate, and we were all sitting there, praying, 'not Tidus, not Tidus', and then guess who gets paired with him? Yeah, me. So we got here, and you know what he did?"

"What?" Yuna asked.

"I didn't," Tidus said, "Gippal's making all of this up."

"He cried," Gippal said, "And I said, all babying, of course, 'What, Tidus miss his mommy?' only to find out that Tidus' mommy died long ago. Wanna know what he missed?"

"What?" Yuna asked, smiling as Tidus sanked deeper into the couch, wearing a huge frown.

"His teddy bear," Gippal said, "So in conclusion, that is why Tidus is officially not the same age as me." He smiled then, waved and said, "Now don't do anything rough. Tidus has a game in two days."

The two said nothing until Gippal was out of the room, and Tidus said quickly, "It was a special teddy bear. Like…Uh…"

Yuna laughed and said, "That's alright, I got homesick too, my first year."

"Did he tell you he still sleeps in footy pajamas?" Gippal's voice could be heard from the other room.

"Okay, now that's a lie!" Tidus cried.

Yuna laughed and said, "How are you going to survive without Gippal?"

"Oh, trust me, I will," Tidus said, "I've grown up a lot since then."

"Sure you have," Yuna said, giggling.

"I have!" Tidus said defiantly, "I'm all man now. Now more Teddy for me."

"He sleeps with a blitzball cradled under his arm!" Gippal's voice was heard once more.

"Get lost!" Tidus cried.

"Is that anyway to talk to your poor injured friend?" Gippal cried, poking his head into the room.

"Go get a pity date or something," Tidus said, "There's no way I'm taking care of you."

"Already got one," Gippal said, "Only it's not a 'pity' date. A real one. If Yuna wasn't here, I'd say it's about time you go on one."

"Yeah right, who's it with?" Tidus asked, "Some slut you picked up at the bar."

"Hey, don't call Yuna's cousin a slut," Gippal said, grabbing his coat.

"What? My cousin?" Yuna cried, looking at Gippal, "Rikku?"

"Yup," Gippal said, smiling, "I gotta go. See you two later. Oh, and Tidus, don't forget to take your vitamin in a half hour."

"I would have remembered!" Tidus simply cried, sinking even further down in the couch.

"I know," Gippal said, "See you two kiddies later!"

"He's such a dick," Tidus said as soon as the door was shut, "But he's my best friend."

Yuna smiled and said, "I can't believe he's going on a date with my cousin."

"Me neither," Tidus said, "What's she like?"

"She's a sweetheart," Yuna said, "She's perfect for him."

"You know, it's kind of true, what Gippal said. I am kind of a baby."

Yuna laughed and said, "I kind of figured that."

"What? How?" Tidus cried, "I try really hard to hide it!"

"I've known since the first time I went out with you!" Yuna said, "Gippal gives it away. And then you were all 'I gotta put my hat on 'cause coach is afraid I'll get sick.'"

Tidus laughed and said, "Yeah, I guess that does sound pretty babyish, huh?"

"Well," Yuna said, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling herself close, "As long as you're good at blitzball, that's all that matters, right? Then they don't mind babying you."

"Yeah," Tidus said.

"But who's going to baby you when Gippal isn't here anymore?" Yuna asked.

"You," Tidus said, going in for a kiss.

Yuna pulled away from him though, and said, "There's no way I'm going to baby you!"

"You know you want to!" Tidus just said, "Face it Yuna, I'm a spoiled pet. You gotta keep me spoiled, or I'll wander out looking for something else."

Yuna sighed, and looked at the ground. It was probably true.

"Hey, don't look so down…" Tidus said, "It was a joke."

"I know," Yuna said, although she knew she didn't know.

"You don't trust me at all, do you?" Tidus asked her then, "You think you're the pet, is that it?"

Yuna shrugged and said, "I don't know, I haven't given it a lot of thought."

"Well, don't think that," Tidus said, "Because really, it's not that way. I don't know why you think the way you do about me, but I'm not gonna cheat on you or anything."

Yuna sighed and said, "I know Tidus. It's just that I…I really feel ashamed to be with you. D-Don't take it the wrong way or anything, but I grew up believing—truly believing!—that I was going to be the wife of a Maester. I would spend my time at press conferences, and raising the future Maester. That's how I was risen. And then you came into my life, and everything turned upside down. I thought—I truly thought!—that I was going to have to hide you. I guess…I feel ashamed for thinking that way. Because I realize now, that all this time I thought you would toss me aside, when really…I was just planning on tossing you aside. You know, bury you away and forget."

"Is it still that way?" Tidus asked, "Are you still ashamed of me?"

"No."

"Good," Tidus said. With that, the two leaned in and kissed.

-

"So, how was your date with Gippal?"

"Oh my Yevon Yunie, you know?" Rikku asked, blushing, "It was fine. I feel so bad about his hand though! He has that little cast thing…He was being all bravado though, and told me it didn't hurt a bit."

Yuna laughed and said, "I was at his house before he left."

"Oh that's right, Tidus and he are roommates!" Rikku said, "And I got our tickets to the playoffs!"

She put the tickets on the table then, and said, "Yunie, we should go on a double date sometime!"

Yuna smiled and nodded and said, "Yes, we should. Although Tidus and Gippal seem to have one of those love-hate relationships going on."

"Well, you know why that is, don't you?" Rikku asked.

"Um…It's just always been that way, hasn't it?" Yuna asked, shrugging.

"No," Rikku said, "Gippal explained it all to me. Tidus was literally a huge brat to Gippal, but Gippal took care of him, like an older brother would. And just when the two were becoming normal friends, Gippal walked home only to realize that Tidus had hired an agent—behind his back. Tidus assured Gippal he wouldn't even think about signing with the professionals until their junior year, and here was Tidus, as a freshman, with an agent, getting signed."

"Really?" Yuna asked.

"Yeah, Gippal was ticked," Rikku continued, "He told Tidus that if he left before junior year, he would never talk to him again. But Tidus stayed to his guns, and now he's leaving before junior year."

"No way," Yuna said, "Why would he do something like that?"

"I don't know," Rikku said, "Gippal doesn't know either. Gippal said that freshman year, Tidus was such a baby that it wasn't even funny. He said that he of course 'forgave' Tidus, but I think a part of them was never really the same."

"Hmm," Yuna just said, resting her head in her hands, "It's weird too, because Tidus acts like he doesn't really want to play professionally yet. I personally think he's too immature, but he'd never admit it."

"Is he really a baby?" Rikku asked then, "Because that's just so adorable!"

Yuna smiled and said, "It's hard to explain. I think he enjoys being babied, by he's not like a real baby or anything."

"I see, an attention whore!" Rikku said, as if proud of herself for making that conclusion.

"I suppose you could put it that way," Yuna said.

"Where is he now?" Rikku asked, "They don't have practice."

"He's at the gym," Yuna said, rolling her eyes, "He's been there at least three times today."

Rikku laughed and said, "Gippal's at home cooking. He makes Tidus meals all the time, you know."

Yuna shook her head and said, "Poor Gippal. He should just not do it."

"But," Rikku said, "Tidus is the star player. They need him. Gippal said that in the off season, he's a lot more easy-going on Tidus."

"Maybe I'll go talk to him," Yuna said, "Want to come?"

"Sure!" Rikku said, "Are we going to go to the gym?"

"Why not?" Yuna simply said with a shrug.

"Alright Yunie," Rikku giggled, "But just to warn you, I've never been to the gym before!"

"Me neither," Yuna said, rolling her eyes, "Let's ask Tidus to go get something to eat with us!"

"But Gippal's cooking for him!"

"Alright, let's go tell Tidus to go home and cook for Gippal for a change," Yuna said, smiling.

"Okay!" Rikku said, and the two headed off.

The gym wasn't very far from them, being that Yuna had met her cousin on campus. Yuna often found herself wondering why Tidus lived so far from his campus, but was always reminded that he was close to the blitz arena—and that was what mattered, not school.

"Wow, this gym is huge!" Yuna cried as soon as they entered.

"Yeah it is…" Rikku said, looking around, "There's not too many people here though, it shouldn't be hard to find him."

The two started around the gym, which was a two-story gym with a common floor in the middle.

"Hey, he's down there!" Rikku said then, pointing. He was on the first floor, while the girls were on a second story balcony overlooking the first floor.

Yuna smiled and looked for stairs.

"Who are those girls?" Rikku asked, tugging on Yuna's sleeve.

Yuna turned around, only to see two girls who she didn't recognize, standing in front of Tidus, who was standing in front of a bench press, laughing at something the girls were saying.

"Probably friends," Yuna said, rolling her eyes, not at Tidus, but at herself. Why was she seeming to get the wrong idea.

"Uh, Yunie," Rikku said then, "What is Tidus doing?"

Yuna looked, only to see Tidus standing there, with his eyes closed. At that exact same moment, one of the girls kissed him.

"What is that girl doing?" Yuna cried, perhaps too loud. She found stairs then, and she flew down them, with Rikku at her heels. By the time she reached Tidus though, the girls were gone.

"Tidus!" Yuna cried, walking up to him, "Who were they?"

"Hey Yuna!" Tidus greeted her, "Hey Rikku!"

Yuna gave an exasperated look at her cousin, and said, "Tidus, who were those girls? And why were you kissing one of them?"

"Oh…" Tidus said, rubbing the back of his neck, "They told me to close my eyes, and I did."

"Don't act all naïve and innocent," Yuna cried, "There was tongue in that kiss!"

"Yuna, they told me to close my eyes, I did. Then she kissed me, and what was I supposed to do?"

"Pull away," Yuna said, "Or…Maybe don't close your eyes when some skanks tell you to."

"I'm sorry," Tidus said, rolling his eyes, as if it wasn't a big deal, "They wouldn't leave me alone."

"And you didn't know Yunie was here," Rikku said then, crossing her arms in a protective manner.

Tidus looked at Rikku with a shocked expression on his face, and then looked back at Yuna and said, "Yuna, don't be like this."

"Okay, what if I walked over and kissed that guy right over there?" Yuna asked, pointing to a random guy, "How would you feel?"

"That's Keepa, our goalie," Tidus said, as if that made a difference, "So I wouldn't care. Go ahead, kiss him."

"W-What if I kissed that guy over there?" Yuna cried, growing angry with her boyfriend.

"Him? That's Briggs, he's our main defense player."

"Is anybody here not a blitzball player?" Yuna cried.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tidus asked.

"You tell me!" Yuna cried.

"Um…I'm gonna…Go…" Rikku said then, looking at the two as if she was completely out of place.

She marched off quickly then, while Tidus and Yuna continued to stare each other down.

"Tidus, you can't do that," Yuna said then, "You just can't."

"I swear Yuna, it was an accident. I don't even know who those two were."

Yuna just shook her head and said, "I'm going home. I'll see you at the game."

"Yuna!" Tidus cried after her, "Don't be like this!"

Yuna stopped and turned around and said, "It's alright Tidus, don't worry about it." Her tone was sarcastic, and she knew this, but she couldn't stop herself. She wanted her words to be true. It was just a kiss, wasn't it? She didn't have any reason to not believe him. He was, as she'd been finding out, a 'baby'. And he enjoyed being babied. End of story.

"What does a kiss have to do with being babied?" Yuna asked herself softly, as she turned around and continued walking toward the door.

"Hey, come on!" Tidus said, running up behind her, "Let's go back to my place and talk or something, 'kay?"

"Actually, let's," Yuna said, turning around, "There's a lot of things I want you to explain to me."

"Like what?" Tidus asked.

Yuna shook her head in defeat, and said, "Like, why did you tell Gippal you weren't going to sign until your junior year, only to do it your freshman year?"

"Who told you about that?" Tidus asked, "That was a long time ago, you know, buried in the past."

"Well, Gippal told Rikku, who told me," Yuna said, "It's true, isn't it?"

"Yuna, you don't understand. You know nothing about it. I had to get signed in case I got injured. Neither Gippal nor you understands that."

"Tidus, you still didn't have to leave after this year, did you?"

Tidus was silent, and he said, "Yuna, anybody would take this chance. Don't you see?"

"So you're just being selfish," Yuna said then, crossing her arms.

"No!" Tidus cried, "I'm…Okay, yes, I'm being selfish. Okay? Does that make you happy?"

"Gippal does so much for you, and this is how you repay him?" Yuna asked, "You seem like a jerk to me, Tidus."

"Hey, I don't need that from you!" Tidus cried, "Why don't you just go home?"

"Oh, so now you want me to go home?"

"Yeah, I do," Tidus said, "You don't understand, and neither does your cousin."

"Okay, I'll go home," Yuna said, "See you at the game."

"Yeah, see you then," Tidus said, and headed back to the gym.

"And go ahead and kiss as many random girls as you can between now and then!" Yuna shouted back at him.

"I will!" Tidus simply yelled back to her, "Look, there's one right now!"

A girl was walking down the sidewalk, reading a book. To make his point, Tidus walked over to her, put his arm around her, shocking her, and kissed her.

"That's it!" Yuna cried, "I can't take your attitude, Mister!"

"Whoa, what a comeback!" Tidus said, laughing as the girl he had just kissed hurried past him, blushing deeply.

"I can't believe what a jerk you are!" Yuna cried, "Do you not even care?"

Tidus rolled his eyes again, and said, "Yuna, it's not that I don't care! I just don't see why you're getting all wrapped up in things you don't understand!"

"I'm getting worked up about it because it's rude and selfish of you!" Yuna cried, "And you don't seem to mind being rude and selfish."

"Yuna!" Tidus moaned, "I swear, it's not what you think…"

"Don't be a jerk," Yuna simply stated, and started off.

Tidus didn't say anything, but he finally ran up to her, and said, "I'm sorry. Those girls were flirting with me, and I flirted back. I guess I got what I deserved, huh?"

"Had I not walked in, I never would have known," Yuna said, "It just makes me feel…"

"Like you can't trust me?" Tidus asked, "I'm sorry Yuna. I really am. I like to…I like to have fun. Like kissing that random girl. I…I want to prove I'm not afraid."

"What's to prove?" Yuna asked, "You only made me angrier."

"That's what I do," Tidus said, getting dangerously close to her, "I get under people's skin. It's what I do out there in the pool. I pick a target, and I do whatever I can to get into their mind. I didn't mean to do it to you though."

Yuna closed her eyes. Of course she was going to forgive him.

With that, the two kissed, and the girl who Tidus had just kissed shook her head at the two, and walked off.

"Weirdos," the girl muttered under her breath, and was soon out of sight.


	13. The Unwanted Loss

Well, I'm back! Sorry for the long wait guys! I was hoping it would be an even longer wait, but our team lost at the playoffs so...Sad. Yeah, anyway though, I got some more inspiration, and I think I may know how I'm going to finish this now! However, that means that you guys can only hope to expect one or two more chapters! Sad, huh? Oh well... I just wanted to thank you all for your kind reviews. This is by far one of my most successful stories, and it makes me so happy, being that I really feel like I've put my all into it. I hope I don't let you guys down! Enjoy!

Chapter 13: The Unwanted Loss

"Okay, so the girl told you to close your eyes, and you did," Yuna said, as the two walked into Tidus' house.

"Yeah," Tidus said, "Yuna…Only innocent thoughts were going through my head. I thought maybe she was giving me a present or something."

"What are you two talking about?" Gippal said, and he leaned in the doorway, and crossed his arms.

"Tidus kissed a girl," Yuna said, "At the gym. And he's trying to convince me that he was completely innocent."

"Tidus, you gotta stop being such a player," Gippal said, rolling his eyes, "If I were you, Yuna, I'd leave this bafoon."

"Gippal, you weren't even there, so stay out of this," Tidus said, and then he immediately changed the subject, "What's for dinner?"

"Spaghetti."

"We had spaghetti last night!" Tidus moaned.

"You gotta get your carbs," Gippal said, "So it'll be spaghetti again tomorrow."

"Maybe if you made your own meals," Yuna said, "you wouldn't have this problem. Anyway, I should probably go."

"You can stay if you want," Gippal said, "I made plenty."

"I really should go…" Yuna simply said.

"Oh, just stay," Tidus said, "Come one, let's eat."

Tidus strutted off to the kitchen, and Gippal turned to follow him.

"Gippal wait," Yuna said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Gippal said, although he looked confused, as if he was wondering why Yuna would want to talk to him.

"Rikku told me that you were upset that Tidus signed as early as he did," Yuna said, looking at the ground, "Did Tidus really go back on his word?"

"Yeah," Gippal said, "But it's alright. Whatever…"

"Why did he do that?" Yuna asked.

"You guys coming?" Tidus' voice was then heard from the kitchen.

Gippal shrugged and said, "It's complicated Yuna. Don't worry about it. Tidus isn't a bad guy or anything…He's just…He had a selfish moment, that's all."

Gippal turned around then and walked into the kitchen, and Yuna followed.

"You guys are too slow," Tidus said, "I've already eaten an entire plate!"

"Seriously?" Yuna asked, as she helped herself to some of the meal, and took a seat next to Tidus.

"Yeah," Tidus said.

"Tidus has to gain weight," Gippal said, "He's too thin. The pros don't want him that skinny."

"So I gotta eat a lot!" Tidus said with his mouth full.

"I see…" Yuna simply said slowly, "So about the play-offs…What happens if you lose?"

"We have to win two-out-of-three games," Gippal explained, for Tidus was too busy stuffing his face, "If we win, we continue, and if we lose, the season is over. We're currently seeded in the number one spot, so winning shouldn't be a problem."

Yuna gave Tidus a side-glance, only to be shocked to see that he was looking dimly at his spaghetti.

"You okay Tidus?" she asked him, hoping she didn't sound as shocked as she felt.

"Huh? Yeah!" he said, throwing her a smile, and then, he returned to eating.

Yuna didn't return his smile, but instead finished eating, and then announced that she had to leave.

-

"Gippal will meet us in there," Rikku said as the two headed into the stadium, "Since he can't play. Poor guy, he was really down in the dumps."

"At least he's only missing a few games," Yuna said, "He could have been out the entire season!"

"Yeah," Rikku said, agreeing.

"This week went by so slow," Yuna moaned, "And I didn't think my father would ever allow me to come here. He's still moping over the fact that I'm not with Baralai. Of course, it's not like I told him that I'm with a blitzball player…"

Rikku laughed and said, "How long are you going to keep it a secret?"

"Soon it won't matter," Yuna said softly, "Tidus will leave for Zanarkand in just a month or so."

"Yunie, you two aren't breaking up then, are you?"

"Well no," Yuna said, "But things will be a little bit differently. We'll only see each other every now and then. Tidus will be too busy."

The two were now walking into the arena, which was even larger than Bevelle's. The girls found their seats and sat down, waiting patiently for the game to start.

Soon Gippal joined them, after signing a few autographs.

"You're dressed spiffy!" Rikku said as he took a seat next to her, "Even though you're injured, you still have to dress up?"

"Yeah, it's pretty much tradition," Gippal said, laughing, "Where are you girls staying?"

"The same hotel as the guys, you?" Rikku said.

"Same," Gippal said, nodding, "Are you guys doing anything after the game?"

"Can Tidus?" Rikku just said, looking at Yuna.

"He can't leave," Gippal said, "But we can! Let's go eat at least."

"Sounds good," Rikku answered, "Wanna come Yunie?"

"Uh, I'm not sure…" Yuna answered, throwing them a wry smile. She honestly didn't know. She figured she'd see how the game went.

"Okay Yunie," Rikku said, "I'm so excited! I hope the guys win!"

"We might have some trouble…" Gippal trailed then, "This team's pretty good…"

"Who is it?" Yuna said then, realizing that she didn't even know.

"Zanarkand," Gippal said, crossing his arms, "And you know, they're ticked 'cause they don't have Tidus. Bevelle and them battled it out for him. Zanarkand offered him a car, Bevelle offered him a car and a house, Zanarkand offered a better car and house, and on and on it went, until Bevelle finally threw a brand new car, a brand new house, his own private pool and work-out room—neither of which Tidus uses—and some other stuff."

"Wow," Rikku said, "They must have really wanted him."

"Yep," Gippal said, "The rest of us just got free schooling, but Tidus got the ultimate deal. And boy was he pissed when he found out he still had to have a roommate. Of course, I wasn't too happy to be rooming with him. He's a spoiled brat you know."

"Yeah, but you two are best friends now!" Rikku said, nudging Gippal.

Gippal sighed and said, "You know…They put us together because my mom had just died the year before. They thought it would be nice to stick me with an orphan like Tidus. But Tidus didn't even really know his parents…He spent his whole life at blitzball camps."

"Y-Your mother died?" Yuna said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, she died my senior year of high school," Gippal said softly, "I'm from Bikanel, you know. So when she died, I didn't really want to leave my old man all by himself. But Bevelle offered me a good deal to play for them so…I came. When they explained to me that Tidus and I were roommates because we had both lost our parents or parent, I felt a lot better about being his roommate. But Tidus doesn't understand anything when it comes to parentals. All he knows is the game of blitzball."

"Hey, the guys are coming out!" Rikku cried then, and the few people that were in the stands for Bevelle cheered.

"How come there aren't many fans here?" Yuna asked.

"Well, that's because most people don't really care about the playoffs," Gippal explained, "People only come to games for an excuse to socialize and drink. The only people really here are parents."

"Your dad didn't come?" Yuna asked.

"Nah, I'm not playing," Gippal said, smiling, "So it would be pointless for him to come. According to Tidus, even if his parents were still alive, they wouldn't show either, even though they only lived in Zanarkand. It always bugged me the way he talked about his parents like that. His blitz camp counselors and the like were more of a family to him than his actual family. It's sad, really."

"Who will you room with next year?" Yuna asked then.

Gippal shrugged and said, "Got me. Probably another guy from the team. They've all been trying to bribe me into letting them stay with me."

"Do you think Tidus will be okay?" Yuna asked, "He's more of a baby than I thought he was."

"He acts," Gippal said, nodding, "He whines until he gets his way—that's how you're raised at blitz camp. Especially if you're good. He's used to getting what he wants. He'll be just fine. He knows how to manipulate people. Basically, he uses his talent to get whatever he wants. And it helps that he's cute, has those pretty blue eyes, and that innocent little smile. Really, he's more naïve than you would ever guess though. You should see him when he has a beer. He doesn't know what to do, because he's too busy waiting for someone to tell him not to drink it. And when he finally does drink it, he's still too busy waiting for someone to tell him to stop. And then when he realizes no one is going to stop him, he gets too carried away and wakes up with a hangover."

Rikku laughed and said, "Does he drink often?"

"No," Gippal said, "Because I tell him not to, and because Coach tells him not to. In reality though, even if Tidus did get caught drinking underage, it wouldn't matter: Coach and the school would pay off the cops so that they wouldn't penalize him. But Tidus would rather be waited on. He loves it when people tell him not to do something: It makes him feel special. He thrives on it."

Yuna's eyes didn't leave Tidus during all of this. Gippal and he had been living together for only two years, but Gippal definitely had him figured out. There was no doubt about it.

"Tidus seems down lately, do you know why?" Yuna asked.

"He's upset about what happened to me," Gippal answered, "He's become probably more protective of me than I've become of him. Which is pretty protective, considering that I pretty much hold the guy's hand when we cross the street."

Rikku giggled again and said, "Do you really?"

Gippal laughed and said, "Of course not!"

"Anything else?" Yuna asked, interrupting the love birds' little antics toward each other.

"He feels guilty," Gippal said, "He tries not to let me notice, but I know him too well. He feels bad that he signed with Zanarkand behind my back. You know…I still remember that day. We had just gotten second place at a major tournament, and we were all really bummed that we'd gotten second and not first. I went out with some of the guys to just do nothing, but Tidus stayed home. When I got back, I walked in just in time to see him signing some papers that his agent had. You should have seen the guilt across his face."

"Why did he do that?" Yuna asked again, "Why did he go behind your back like that?"

Gippal shrugged and said, "When we first started rooming together, we hated each other. Absolute hate. I had to wait on him for everything. He would purposely take a long time in the bathroom, he would purposely make huge messes in the kitchen and whine that he couldn't cook, and he would purposely just do little things to annoy the hell outta me. I had a girlfriend over, and we were making out in my room…" Gippal gave Rikku a side-glance, but Rikku was too into the story to even care what Gippal was saying about another girlfriend, "and Tidus came barging in, telling me he needed me to help him do his homework. My girlfriend was so annoyed that she ended up dumping me. Tidus thought it was pretty funny.

"Eventually though," Gippal said, "We became friends. I don't know how it happened, but we did. Coach made us be on the same line, and we learned to trust each other, as teammates. Soon we were the best of friends. I watched over him, and in his own weird little way, he watched over me. So I was really shocked when I walked in that day, only to get one of his sheepish little "oops" kind of smiles. I yelled at him, you know, all "How could you go behind my back like that?" but he didn't say anything. He just dropped it. We didn't talk for weeks, and soon, he started acting as if nothing had happened. He never told me why he did it…Soon I just forgot about it, and moved on with my life.

"Even though I've never told him how angry it made me, besides the initial night when I chewed him out, and we've never talked about it, there's always been something that hasn't been the same. We're just…Best friends. Not…You know, best friends forever, or whatever you girls would call it."

"So this upsets Tidus?" Yuna asked.

"Yeah," Gippal said, "Because he's guilty. I think he feels bad for doing it. All I can do is forgive him, but it's gonna be hard next year, and the year after that, without him. We're all happy for him of course—it's everybody's goal to get drafted—but we can't help but feel like he's leaving us when he doesn't have to. Tidus is so good that he could sign and still get paid and everything without having to play for them. But he won't do that. He's heading straight there. And like I said…We just don't talk about it."

"I'll talk about it," Yuna said then.

"Um…I don't know if that's such a good idea," Gippal said quickly.

"It'll be fine," Yuna said, smiling, "Tidus will explain it to me."

Gippal looked uncertain, but it was then that the game began.

The game got off to a slow start without much action, but it soon became apparent that Zanarkand was playing very hard. Bevelle looked to be just a little behind the other team.

"They don't seem like they can get their act together," Gippal said, shaking his head, "What's their problem?"

Yuna's eyes quickly found Tidus, only to realize almost immediately that he seemed rather distracted. She voiced this out loud.

"He does seem distracted," Gippal said, "I wonder what his problem is? If we keep playing like this, we're going to lose!"

Soon enough, Zanarkand made a goal.

"What are they doing?" Gippal moaned, "They're playing like a bunch of idiots!"

It wasn't long before half-time came along, with the Basilisks still down zero-to-one.

"This is ridiculous," Gippal said, "Coach better be reaming them out in the locker rooms."

"I'll say," Rikku agreed with him, "And what's Tidus doing out there? He's just out of it…"

"He did seem really down all week," Yuna said, "What's his problem? He's not _that _guilty, is he?"

"I sure hope not," Gippal said, shaking his head, "It's unlike him to be like this. But you know, everybody has an off day… Just this must be Tidus' first."

"Come on!" Rikku moaned, "This is the playoffs!"

The players came back out shortly, to begin the second half. Right away, Zanarkand scored yet another goal.

"Get your head in the game, Tidus!" Gippal yelled loudly, although Yuna was sure Tidus couldn't hear him. How she wished he could though. If anybody could talk sense into Tidus, it would have to be Gippal.

"I feel sorry for Keepa, our goalie," Gippal said, shaking his head, "He has no help! Come on guys!"

"Why are we sucking?" Rikku said, looking defeated.

Gippal shook his head and said, "I have no idea."

Soon, the Basilisks were down three-to-zero.

"Coach isn't even putting Tidus in anymore," Gippal observed then, "Because he's been such a waste. He really needs to pick it up."

Soon, the game was over, with the Basilisks losing zero-to-three.

"Well, that didn't go well," Gippal said, shaking his head, "If they don't win tomorrow, that's it. End of season." He shook his head then, and stood up. Rikku and Yuna followed him, and back to the hotel they went.

-

"You sure you don't want to come eat with us?" Rikku asked as she grabbed her purse. They had only just gotten back to the hotel, but already Gippal and Rikku were leaving.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Yuna said.

"Hey, Tidus is gonna be depressed," Gippal said, "The whole team is. I bet they get their asses chewed out by Coach. Just a warning."

"Thanks," Yuna just said.

Gippal and Rikku shrugged then, and headed out, leaving Yuna alone. Being that she was unsure of where Tidus' room was exactly, Yuna went and sat in the lobby, waiting for the team to arrive.

Soon enough the staff of coaches and whatnot came in, but the players remained in the bus. Finally, the players all trudged in, looking defeated and depressed. It was a sad sight, really. Most of them were on the phone to their parents, and some of them just simply walked past.

Finally, Tidus came. He walked straight past Yuna, as if he didn't see her, and toward the rooms, following his teammates. Yuna followed, but he was walking quickly, and was thusly far ahead of her.

"Tidus!" Yuna called after him.

He took one look at her, and then opened up the door to his room, and said, "I don't feel like talking." And with that, he walked in and slammed the door shut, right in her face.

"Tidus!" Yuna cried, knocking.

"Sorry girlie," Yuna looked up only to see who she assumed was a coach, "But I think Tidus will want some alone-time. Leave him alone, please."

Feeling defeated herself, Yuna just smiled at the coach in the most innocent manner that she could, and trudged off herself, looking just as depressed as the players.


	14. The Unwanted Ending

Wow, I must apologize for the late update! I'm so late! Ahh! I don't know what happened…My head has been anywhere but on this story! Sad, huh? Don't worry though, I'm picking things back up. There will at least be one more chapter, and a POSSIBLE chapter after that. I haven't made up my mind yet. We'll have to wait and see how the next chapter goes. Again, I apologize immensely for the wait, but here she is! Enjoy!

Chapter 14: The Unwanted Ending

Yuna hung up the phone. She had tried calling him five times in the last ten minutes, and there was still no answer. She was growing more and more defeated.

"Come on Tidus, I need to talk to you!" she said to herself, and she walked out of her hotel room. Perhaps if she knocked again, he would answer.  
Yuna walked over to his room, and knocked on the door. Once more, there was no answer.

"Open up, Tidus!" Yuna said, hoping she didn't alert his coach, "I want to talk to you! Please?"

She was about to give up, when the door opened.

"What?" Tidus asked, not letting her in, "You want to tell me how much I sucked too? I'm sorry, okay? I'll play better tomorrow."

"Tidus, you know I don't care how you play," Yuna said, for it was the truth, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," Tidus said, "But seriously, you're mad. Aren't you? Everybody else is."

"I don't care," Yuna said, walking in, "Win or lose, I still love you."

Tidus rolled his eyes and walked away from her. Yuna shut the door and said, "I'm not going to tell you that you played well though. Where was your head?"

"I don't know," Tidus answered, "Not in the game, obviously."

Yuna swallowed and said, "Is there something wrong? You played as if you had a death in the family or something…"

"Yuna I…" Tidus trailed and then he sighed and said, "I guess I want to win so badly that I…I can't play right. If I—If we—lose, it's all over. This season, I mean. In less than a month, I'm off to play professionally. I just…I don't want the season to be over. I want to hold onto it forever."

"You can't, Tidus," Yuna said, shrugging, "Life has to go on."

"I know," Tidus said softly.

"Believe me," Yuna said, "I don't want it to end either. I don't want you to leave. Gippal doesn't either. He doesn't want you to leave."

Tidus swallowed loudly and said, "Did he say that?"

"Maybe," Yuna said, taking a seat next to Tidus, "Why did you sign after telling him you wouldn't?"

Tidus chuckled, but Yuna could tell he wasn't happy to be asked that question.

"It's difficult," Tidus said, "I don't know how to explain it."

"Well, try," Yuna said, "It really hurt your friendship with Gippal, you know."

"I do know," Tidus said, "But that didn't stop me from doing it. Especially now. You know, Gippal doesn't act like it, but there's a good chance he'll never be able to properly use his hand again. He could be out for life. I don't want that to be me, Yuna. I gotta take my chance while I can."

"That makes sense," Yuna said, "But why tell Gippal you weren't going to sign? Why not just explain that to him?"

"I wasn't going to," Tidus said, "I really wasn't going to sign Yuna. I was going to wait. But then…You know, things happened. I…I let my own selfishness get the best of me. You know…I'll be the youngest professional player ever, starting to play at the age of twenty. My old man didn't start 'till he was twenty-one. I…I…"

"Your father?" Yuna said then, "What was he like?"

"My old man?" Tidus asked, as if shocked by the question, "He was the biggest dick I knew. I hated him. And I want to out-do him. In every way possible. It's been my goal for as long as I can remember! I never expected to like college game, you know? I just had to do it; it was something that had to be done. But I got…I got attached. Not only to Gippal and my life, but to my entire team. I love those guys—you know, in a family kind of way. They're like…the closest thing to a family I've ever had. I don't want to leave them."

"Then don't," Yuna said, "Gippal said you could wait and get signed later."

"But Yuna, I gotta think about myself—I have to be selfish here. I could get hurt and never be able to play again. And I gotta outdo my dad. For myself—it's something I have to do!"

"Then go," Yuna said, shaking her head, "And in the meantime, pick yourself up. Play hard tomorrow."

Tidus looked at the ground and said, "I'm so used to having people tell me what to do. Tidus, go to blitz camp. Tidus, go play college blitz. Tidus, don't drink. Tidus, listen to classical music to calm yourself. Tidus, wear your hat, it's frickin' freezing out there! And now here I am…Can't you just tell me what to do?"

Yuna gave him a wry smile and said, "You have to figure that out for yourself, Tidus. No one can tell you. If I said 'stay', what would you do?"

"I don't know," Tidus said, shrugging, "I guess it depends. If I'm feeling rebellious, I'd go just to spite you, but if I wasn't…"

"How are you feeling? Rebellious?"

"I feel like killing myself," Tidus responded.

Yuna shook her head and said, "And what would that accomplish?"

"I wouldn't have to decide!" Tidus said, "Only I can't decide on the best way to do it…I thought of drowning myself, but I can hold my breath for so Yevon-damned long that it would take hours!"

Yuna assumed he was trying to be funny, but she didn't find him funny at all.

"Do you want to win tomorrow?" she asked then.

To her surprise, Tidus looked at the ground and said, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Yuna repeated, shocked at his answer, "Why not?"

"I don't know," Tidus said, "I feel like I'm letting the team down enough, just by leaving them."

"They don't think about it like that," Yuna said.

"They do too!" Tidus argued, "Ask anyone. Especially Gippal…"

"Gippal's fine, Tidus. He's just upset that you would tell him one thing and do another."

"I always thought," Tidus said then, "That my dad didn't start playing until he was twenty-four. That gave me a lot of time. But he started when he was twenty-one. That doesn't give me much time."

"Beat him in other ways!" Yuna said, "Besides Tidus, isn't he dead? Shouldn't you let this kind of thing go?"

Tidus leaned back and said, "You don't understand, Yuna. I…It's like a childhood dream—ambition! I…I worked my ass off to make it here. You have no idea. I don't know anything else! Blitzball…Wanna know what my G.P.A. is? One-point-o. That means I pretty much average all F's. How am I still on the team you ask? Because people simply turn their heads. Because I'm good."

"You're just lazy Tidus! You could get better grades if you wanted to!"

"Maybe," Tidus said, "But I know I can get away with it. Because I'm good. Because I can play blitz. I can't take my chances. I gotta play. I gotta play now."

"That's fine," Yuna said, nodding, "I'm not telling you not to."

"Good," Tidus said, "That's how it is. I'm going to try to win tomorrow—or at least play better—and then I'm off to blitz camp and then as soon as I turn twenty, I'm in there."

"That's fine," Yuna said once again, "It's your life Tidus, and you are in charge of it."

"Exactly," Tidus said, "But I'll have no free time…And I…Hey! Doesn't it bother you to think that we'll only be able to see each other once every other month or so?

"Yes," Yuna answered honestly, "But it'll be alright."

"What about Gip?" Tidus asked, "How does he feel about that?"

"He'll miss you," Yuna answered, "But he'll be okay. No offense or anything Tidus, but I'm mostly worried about yourself. You're a little…You know…"

"Spoiled?" Tidus asked, a smile creeping on his lips, "Don't worry Yuna, it's all and act."

"I know that," Yuna said, "You act like a baby to get your way. Even Gippal knows that. What you don't realize Tidus, is what Gippal told me: You thrive on that kind of thing. That's not good. Sooner or later, people are going to stop giving you what you want."

"Not a chance," Tidus said, shrugging, "I know how to play people Yuna."

Yuna looked at the ground then, and she said, "Tell me this, Tidus. Have you ever played me?"

Tidus looked at her thoughtfully and said, "Possibly."

"When?" Yuna asked, shocked at his answer.

"A while ago," Tidus said, "But then I started to really fall for you. I don't know how to explain it. I thought, you know, you'd come, pick up the jersey, I'd flirt, you'd fall in love, and I'd take you back to my place. The next morning, you'd wake up and realize it had all just been a dream, and leave. End of story. But things didn't happen that way. It pissed me off, so I tried extra hard. I guess I was almost kind of stalker-ish. I followed you and your boyfriend to that restaurant. I made sure to jog just as you were getting out of class…I did everything I could to make you fall for me."

"You did?" Yuna asked, feeling shocked, "Because it really worked, you know! When you and I…Well, you know, last time when we were here…Tidus, I really honestly thought that was a one-night kind of thing. I was prepared for you to just ditch me and never talk to me again."

"Me too," Tidus said, smiling.

"So you did…" Yuna said, sighing, "What made you change your mind?"

"I don't know," Tidus said, "Something changed. On the way home that next morning, I couldn't stop thinking about you. The guys were all doing shots in the back of the bus, even though it was early Sunday morning, and they wanted me to join, but I just couldn't. I couldn't do anything."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Tidus stood up, only to stop.

"Yuna," he said, "You played me more than I played you, you know. Whether you meant it or not, I really am in love with you. I just want you to know that."

He didn't wait for her response then, and she had none, for she just sat there, staring at the wall in front of her.

She had assumed he cared, at least somewhat, but she hadn't thought he 'loved' her. She felt like crying, actually. She knew she couldn't though. Perhaps she wasn't as weak as she thought she was. Smiling, she turned to see who was at the door, just as Gippal walked in.

"Hey Yuna!" he greeted her, "Mind if Tidus and I go have a chat with the bus driver?"

"The bus driver?" Yuna asked.

"Yeah, we always go talk to him on Friday nights," Tidus said, laughing, "It's pretty much tradition."

"We have a cocktail and talk about tomorrow's game," Gippal said, "It's our pick-up."

"Go ahead," Yuna said, shrugging, "But should you really drink before tomorrow's game?"

"One doesn't hurt!" Gippal said cheerfully, "Although hey, if I'm not playing, I can probably have more!"

"Me too!" Tidus said with a huge smile.

"Yeah right, idiot," Gippal said, hitting him lightly on the head, "You shouldn't even have one. You're underage!"

"You are too!"

"I'm different," Gippal just said, "So anyway, see you later Yuna? Rikku's back at your room."

"Yeah, okay," Yuna said, "What do you guys do tomorrow?"

"Sleep," Tidus said, "Until like two. Then we eat lunch, and head out."

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later then," Yuna said, "Play hard tomorrow."

Tidus looked at her in an almost vacant way, before he finally nodded, and followed Gippal out the door.

Yuna smiled to herself, and left, heading back to her own room.

-

"The guys that came with us to have a drink said that today's game is going to be way better," Gippal said, taking his seat next to Rikku, "I hope they're right. I guess Coach chewed them out."

"That's good," Rikku said, "If we don't win today, the season's over!"

"That would be quite a shame," Gippal said, "Especially since we're the number one seed. It'd be a huge upset."

Yuna looked at the ground, and said, "How did Tidus seem when you left?"

"Alright," Gippal said, "He was pretty high in spirits for just losing. Why?"

"I think he's feeling guilty, like you said," Yuna said, "And I don't think he wants to leave this team."

"Well, he doesn't have to," Gippal said, "But he's afraid of an injury. And he could get injured—it's not like he's foolish or selfish to think that. Let's face it: the guy knows little outside of blitzball."

"How sad," Rikku commented, "I mean, that's his life. It's sad."

"It is sad," Yuna mused, "But somehow fitting. But I don't think his heart is in it right now. He's confused and doesn't know what he wants."

"I agree," Gippal said, "Tidus is a sure guy. But he's used to being told what to do. Now that he has to make up his own mind, he doesn't know what to do. He's indecisive, and probably rightfully so. I don't know what I would do if I were in his position."

"You'd stay, wouldn't you?" Rikku gasped.

"I don't know," Gippal admitted, "To be honest, I'd like to say I would, but Tidus has a great thing coming to him. We all play with the hope that we'll get on a pro team. And Tidus is everybody's number one pick. He'll be making some good money and living the high life. Which is what he wants. It's what we all want."

"Right," Yuna said.

Gippal didn't say anything, and he finally said, "What did Tidus say? Does he want to stay with us?"

"He does," Yuna said.

"What did you tell him?" Gippal asked then.

"I told him that he had to make up his own mind," Yuna said softly.

"Good," Gippal just said.

With that, the game began.

The three could tell immediately that the team was indeed playing better. The team swam faster and were much more into it than they had been the night before. Except for Tidus.

"Come on Tidus!" Gippal yelled loudly, "Get your head in the damn game!"

"What is his problem?" Rikku asked, "These guys need to win!"

"I know," Gippal said nervously, "I wish I could go out there and talk to him. I don't know what his deal is."

Yuna stared ahead and said, "Me neither."

"They can beat this team!" Gippal moaned, "If only Tidus would—."

Yuna cut him off.

"They can't rely on him!" Yuna said quickly, "He'll be gone next year, you know this Gippal! I almost think it's the pressure. And if he has a lot on his mind to begin with…Well, he can't play. He can't play under these conditions."

Gippal leaned back in his chair and nodded.

"You're right," he said, "We can't rely on Tidus. I don't think Tidus knows this though…"

"Me neither," Yuna said, "He tries too hard to please."

Just as she said that, Zanarkand made a goal.

"Coach is pulling Tidus out," Gippal said, sighing, "Who knows when he'll go back out…"

It wasn't long after that the Basilisks made a goal, tying the game.

"Maybe we'll pull this off after all," Gippal said, although he sounded nervous and unsure.

"If you guys lose," Rikku said, "Then what?"

"Well…" Gippal said, "Wanna know honestly."

"Yes."

"We party," Gippal said, "We're sad, you know, but only for an hour or so. We'll be out all night. We are college guys, after all."

"That's cool," Rikku said.

Yuna simply leaned forward. She didn't want to think about them losing. She didn't want it to end.

"Yunie, why do you look so down?" Rikku asked then, noticing her cousin appeared unhappy.

"Oh, I'm just trying to watch the game," Yuna said, forcing a smile, "I'm fine!" Of course, she wasn't fine. Tidus would be leaving. Even if he didn't want to, and even if Gippal didn't want him to, and even if she didn't want him to, he would be leaving. It was reality. He would be only a few hours away, but he'd be gone, and he'd be busy. Yuna would be busy too. She had school, after all.

Soon, it was halftime, and Tidus hadn't played since Zanarkand's goal.

"Will they put Tidus back in?" it was Rikku who asked.

"I don't know," Gippal said, "My guess is Coach will, but who knows."

The guys came back out then, and sure enough, Tidus was playing.

The game started back up, but Yuna sighed. It was still apparent that Tidus wasn't playing his best.

"Come on Tidus," Gippal muttered under his breath.

"He keeps looking at the scoreboard," Rikku said, "Why doesn't he pay attention to the game?"

Yuna sighed, closed her eyes, and said, "They need to leave him out."

"Are you serious?" Rikku cried, "Yunie, this could be his last game with the team!"

"I know," Yuna said, "But he's not playing well!"

"She has a point," Gippal said to Rikku, "But if I were a coach, I'd leave him in. Because it's his last game."

"Don't say that!" Rikku cried, "We're tied! We can still win!"

At that moment, Zanarkand scored.

The crowd was going wild, and fireworks went off in the stadium.

"They act like they've won!" Rikku cried, looking unhappy, "We still have half a game left!"

Soon, that half of the game was disappearing. Time was running out.

"We only have a minute left," Gippal said, after seemingly no time at all, "Come on guys, get a goal! Tidus, where a shorty right now?"

The guys were down a guy, for one had just gotten a penalty.

Yuna found herself staring at the floor and not at the game. In her head, she thought about that 'shorty' she had seen already over a month ago. That game with Baralai, when Tidus had navigated through the other team, and so smoothly past the goalie. She thought about what he had said when she had asked him about it. She knew it had been that moment when she had seen him make that goal that she was in love with him. That smoothness… That self-assuredness. Where was all of that now?

The final buzzer buzzed, and streamers in Zanarkand's colors went flying out. Yuna felt her heart fall.

They had lost.


	15. The Unwanted Goodbye

I must apologize IMMENSELY for the long wait you guys! Ugh, I feel so horrible! To be honest though, I just couldn't get this chapter out. You see, this is the last chapter. I was feeling rather depressed, because not only is this the last chapter in this story, but also the last chapter in...Well, what this story is based off of. I didn't want it to be over. -sigh- But it is over, and I've finally managed to move on, and also move on with this update! I'm going to have some author commentary on the bottom, so feel free to read that if you want. In the meantime, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. And I hope you enjoyed the story! Thank you ALL of you for the sweet and kind reviews. You guys make me so happy!

Chapter 15: The Unwanted Goodbye

The three were quiet as they walked into the hotel. They hadn't uttered a word to each other since that final buzzer.

As they walked into the hotel, Gippal finally said, "You know, Tidus is gonna be pissed. I vote we all leave him alone for the night."

"Won't he go party with the rest of the guys?" Rikku asked, "I mean, sure, they lost, but it's not necessarily his fault."

Gippal looked at the ground and said, "Tidus isn't part of the team anymore…"

"Gippal, don't be stupid," Yuna said, shaking her head, "Of course he's still part of the team."

"Yuna, he doesn't look at it like that," Gippal said, shooting her a nasty glare.

"Well he shouldn't!" Yuna said, "He was on this team this entire season! He doesn't leave for some time yet!"

"Everybody's ticked at him leaving!" Gippal just argued, "Next year we don't stand a chance. I know you said we have to get used to not having him, but this really was our one and only chance."

"You can't blame him," Yuna said, shaking her head, "You guys have no right to do that."

Gippal sighed and said, "You're right, I'm sorry. Go talk to Tidus if you want, and he'll say the same stuff. He won't want to hang out with us, because he'll be ashamed. Really, go ask him yourself."

"He has nothing to be ashamed of," Yuna said surely, "Especially if he's the one that got you guys this far."

Gippal simply shrugged and said, "I'll be out with the team. You guys can come or stay, your choice."

"I'm coming!" Rikku said quickly, and she cast a nervous glance at Yuna.

"I'll stay," Yuna said, crossing her arms.

"Alright, but I warned you," Gippal said, shaking his head, "Come on Rikku. We'll go find the guys and see what's up."

"See you later Yunie!" Rikku said to her cousin, and then ran after Gippal, who had gone rushing into the hotel.

Yuna sighed. Was Gippal upset at Tidus for losing? Why couldn't the team get it through their heads that they couldn't rely on one guy? Shaking her head, Yuna followed them into the hotel. Perhaps Tidus wasn't as large of a baby as Gippal made him out to be. After all, wasn't Gippal the one that was acting like a baby?

Yuna walked into her room and sat on her bed. What was she going to do? Perhaps Gippal was wrong and Tidus wanted to go party with the team? She wasn't in the mood to party. She had her own problems to worry about, really.

The season was over. Blitzball was done for. She would be forced to have to go back to her normal life. No more weekend outings. It was almost as if the entire relationship was over. It wasn't though, Yuna convinced herself. Or was it?

For the longest time, she felt as if she was dreaming. It was all just a dream, wasn't it? Hugging her pillow, she shook her head. Of course it wasn't a dream. Even still, what if it just ended? Everything could just end, just like a dream.

Sighing, Yuna stood up, and walked out into the hall. She wondered if Tidus was in his room. Swallowing, she made her way there, and knocked.

To her surprise, he answered immediately.

"You didn't go party?" she asked, trying to remain light.

"Of course not," Tidus said, shutting the door behind her, "They don't want me to, anyway."

"It's not your fault," Yuna said quickly.

"Of course it is," Tidus said, "I let 'em all down."

Yuna took a deep breath and said, "Something told me you weren't going to play very well."

Tidus didn't say anything, but he continued to look at the ground.

"Want to explain yourself?" Yuna asked, crossing her arms. She didn't mean to sound cross, but she wondered if that was how she was presenting herself.

"I wanted to win so bad," Tidus said, "I really did. But for some reason…I couldn't play. I just…couldn't. I kept looking around, looking at my teammates, thinking, "Wow, this could be the last game I play with them…" That's a horrible thing to think: I have never thought before, "Hey, I'm going to lose." But tonight, I did. I thought that, and I did lose."

"Why even think it?" Yuna asked, and then she shook her head and said, "Tidus…You didn't do that because…Because you thought that people would think you needed another year in college, did you?"

Tidus looked shocked, and then sheepish. He sighed and said, "Self consciously, it went through my head, yes. I thought if I played like shit, they wouldn't want me. Or at least not for another year. Then I wouldn't have to choose. I could stay at Bevelle for another year."

"Tidus, if that's what you really want, then stay!" Yuna said, hoping her voice wasn't too hopeful.

"I can't," Tidus said, shaking his head, "This is my decision, and I'm sticking with it."

"Alright," Yuna said, "If that's what you want, then I'm happy for you."

"Yes, it's what I want," Tidus said, nodding.

"Okay," Yuna said, "I support that completely."

Tidus just nodded, and said, "I think you're the only one."

"Gippal wants what's best for you too," Yuna said, surely, "And I'm sure the rest of your team feels that way too! Trust yourself Tidus. You can do this."

Tidus smiled a little smile, and said, "You know, I didn't want to go to Bevelle. I really didn't. I didn't want to leave Zanarkand. But I'm really glad I chose Bevelle. I couldn't play with all the stuck-up morons over at Zanarkand. But those guys are who I'll be playing with from now on. Old professional guys. Guys who worship my old man."

"Is Zanarkand the team you want to play for?" Yuna asked, "You know, if this is your career, you have to be positive…"

"Of course it's the team," Tidus said, "It's _my _team."

"Does Gippal have a chance to play there?" Yuna asked.

Tidus looked at the ground, and shook his head.

"Not many players get signed, you know. Gippal…More than likely won't. Especially not with a team like Zanarkand."

"Oh," Yuna said, softly.

"Why do you worry so much about him anyway?" Tidus asked then, looking at Yuna.

"Well, you worry about him, don't you?" Yuna asked, shocked by his question.

"Yeah, but don't you…Aren't you more worried about us?"

The question seemed to sweep through Yuna. Why wasn't she more worried about her relationship with him? All she seemed to think he cared about was Gippal. Perhaps that was just an excuse?

"I don't know," Yuna said, shrugging, "I guess… I don't want to think about it."

"You think it's over, don't you?" Tidus asked then, "You'll be in Bevelle, I'll be here…We'll have little time to see each other. Just like Gippal. I won't be able to see him either." Tidus shrugged and said, "Realistically, do you think it's over?"

"I don't know," Yuna said, shaking her head, "I don't want it to be, but realistically speaking…"

"You think it's over," Tidus finished for her.

Yuna felt defeated. She did think it was over. The question was, did he?

"What do you think?" she asked him, "Do you think it's over?"

Tidus shrugged and said, "I can't say. I don't want it to be over either but I…I can't really promise anything. The more I think about it, the more I realize this. A lot can happen, and I'll be constantly playing. I don't want to hurt you, Yuna…"

"You won't," Yuna said surely, "I've really gotten to the point where I'm yours, no matter what. If you think it's over, because you really truly believe it's over, then that's fine. I won't be hurt, Tidus. Well…I will, but not as badly as I would be if we waited years and then I…"

"You think I'll cheat on you, don't you?" Tidus asked.

"Well I…" Yuna trailed, unsure of what to say.

"Me too," Tidus admitted, "And I don't want to do that. I'll try hard not to, you know! I really will! But sometimes…"

"I don't care," Yuna said, swallowing hard, "Cheat on me all you want. Just…"

"I can't just cheat on you!" Tidus cried, "Are you crazy? I'd freak out if you and that Bara-what's-his-face got it on."

"Tidus," Yuna said, "I'm just trying to be realistic!"

"What's realistic about that?" Tidus asked, shaking his head, "I'm gonna be gone for so long! Busy and tired and… I really thought it through Yuna, numerous times. About everything. And the more I think about it…The more I think…"

"Tidus, don't worry about me," Yuna said, shaking her head, "I really will be fine."

Tidus swallowed and said, "I really just don't want to hurt you."

_"Then don't hurt me," _Yuna's mind flashed, but she pushed it out.

"I think the safest thing," Tidus continued.

_"Don't say it," _Yuna's mind flashed again.

"…Would be for us to just…"

_"No."_

"Break up. I'm sorry, Yuna."

Was it just the other day that he had told her that he loved her? Just the other day? Yesterday?

Yuna stood as strong as she could, and nodded slowly.

"I understand," she said, almost as if the words came out automatically, with no emotion whatsoever.

"Thanks for coming to see me," Tidus said again, his eyes plastered to the ground.

_"At least look at me," _Yuna's mind screamed, _"At least let me see those eyes one more time…"_

"I really…" Tidus trailed, "I leave next week you know. So more than likely, this will be the last time I see you."

"Okay," Yuna said, nodding.

"I could have waited a little longer," Tidus said, "But I didn't think that would be fair."

"It's fine," Yuna said. Now she was growing angry. She looked at the ceiling, and knew that without a doubt she'd have to leave.

"I should go," she said, "I really wish you luck, Tidus. Goodbye." She pushed past him, and he didn't say anything. He just kept looking at the ground.

"Yuna!" he suddenly said, just as she opened the door, "I really…Love you, Yuna. That's why I'm doing this. You realize that, right?"

"Of course," Yuna said, hoping the sarcasm didn't show in her voice.

"I don't want you to think I just played you."

"I don't think that at all," Yuna said, although she was unsure of whether or not this was the truth.

"Goodbye," Tidus said then.

Yuna didn't say anything back to him. She simply shut the door and walked down the hallway.

She didn't think she would cry, but a tear slid down her cheek. She had assumed it was coming, she really had, but now that it was truly over, she couldn't seem to compose herself.

It was all over.

-

Yuna sighed and taped the box shut. Then, she slid it under her bed. It was about time she stored that jersey somewhere. It was doing her no good sitting on her dresser.

She stood up and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Two months had passed since that day in Zanarkand. It was now late-spring, and another school year was disappearing.

Her days with Tidus seemed like eons ago.

She had watched him many times on the sphere. He had just made his first career goal about a week ago, and had looked extremely ecstatic on the sphere, as his team all patted him on the head, and they then swam their victory swim.

He looked nice in his new jersey, but not nearly as nice as he had looked in the Basilisk jersey.

Rikku said that Gippal had taken Tidus' leave rather hard at first, claiming that he didn't think he'd ever actually go. But he had. Tidus was gone.

Both Yuna and Gippal had spent a good month lamenting, thinking that perhaps he would come home. Rikku, Gippal, and Yuna would watch his games, hoping to see some sign of unhappiness. That goal though made it clear to all of them though: Tidus was there to stay.

Often Yuna would consider calling him, but she didn't want to seem as if she couldn't live without him. He obviously could live without her, so what was the point? She wondered often how he was doing, and how life was treating him. He was already a celebrity, as he had been before his Zanarkand days. All of that was clear to Yuna now.

As for Yuna, she seemed rather lost. She had run into Baralai about a month after the end of the blitz season, only to find that he had a new girlfriend, a stylish girl from Luca whose name was Paine. He didn't need her anymore.

Yuna's father already had another guy ready in line, but Yuna wasn't interested. She knew she had to move on eventually, but for the time being, she was just fine. Or at least, she told herself that she was fine.

It had been a long time. Tidus had been right. That night in Zanarkand had been the last night she had seen him. She ran it through her mind. At first, she had been completely unable to let him go, and she would think, "Well, it's been one week since I last saw Tidus. It's been two weeks now since I last saw Tidus…" The days had all blended together though, and she couldn't remember exactly how many weeks it had been. All she knew that it had been too many.

She often wondered if she should have done something differently. She had tried though, hadn't she? If Tidus was worried that he couldn't be faithful, that was alright. Wasn't it? As long as she didn't know about it? Yuna knew she'd feel crushed if she had found out, but would she have been more crushed than she was now that he was gone?

The doorbell rang then, and Yuna sighed to herself. With one more glance in the mirror, she headed downstairs, and answered the door.

Rikku stood there, and she greeted her cousin, and then walked in.

"Ready to go?" Rikku asked. The two were heading out on a quick shopping expedition to find a nice dress for Rikku. It was the final party for the blitzers, and Rikku was escorting Gippal.

In a way, it hurt Yuna. She could have been going to that party as well, all dressed up, and with Tidus. But Tidus nor she would be attending the party.

"Just a second," Yuna answered Rikku's question, "I have to go grab my purse."

Rikku nodded, and Yuna left the room, heading back upstairs to grab her purse. Once she reached the stairs, the doorbell rang again.

"Um, Yunie?" Rikku called up to her, "I think it might be Gippal…"

"Gippal?" Yuna called down the stairs, "Why's he here?"

"Because I invited him to come with," her cousin said sheepishly, "Is that alright?"

Yuna sighed. For the past month or so, Gippal had been rather drifty. It seemed as if he didn't know what to do with himself now that he didn't have to make Tidus dinner and whatnot.

"I suppose that's alright," Yuna said, although she wasn't sure. She liked Gippal, she really did, but it was almost sickening to see them happily together. Perhaps she was just bitter.

Yuna faintly heard the door close, and assumed Gippal had entered the house, waiting for her. Yuna picked up her purse and headed back down the stairs.

"If you two just want to go without me," Yuna started, but she stopped. She was standing halfway down the stairs, when she saw just who was at the door.

Looking at her with his hands shoved in his pockets was Tidus.

"T-Tidus?" Yuna managed, and she walked down the rest of the stairs, "Wh-What are you doing here?"

He shrugged and said, "Going to the blitz party. I was wondering if you wanted to come as my escort?"

Yuna didn't know what to say or do. She just stood there, motionless. She wanted to cry; she wanted to jump in his arms. But she couldn't do anything. She just stood there.

"How did you come? Aren't you busy?" she asked, realizing she must have sounded as if she wasn't happy to see him.

Tidus just smiled and he said, "I'm back."

"What do you mean?" Yuna asked, her voice shaking.

He laughed and he said, "I'm back. I'm here for another year."

She shook her head, and managed a soft little, "Why?"

Tidus laughed again and said, "According to the Zanarkand coach, I'm 'too immature'. I think it was probably me walking into practice with a teddy bear under my arm…"

Yuna laughed and said, "You didn't really, did you?"

"Of course I did!" Tidus said, although Yuna could sense the jest in his eyes, "And none of the guys would make me breakfast! What was I supposed to do?"

Yuna now had a smile plastered across her mouth, but she shook her head and said, "But you just made a goal and everything!"

"I know," Tidus said, "Wanna know my honest opinion? I think I'm too good. It makes them scared." He chuckled and said, "Well, you never answered my question. Will you be my escort?"

"Of course not," Yuna said, "We're 'over', remember?"

Tidus gave her a frown and said, "I'm sorry Yuna. I was…Overly emotional and unable to think clearly. I really feel horrible."

Yuna smiled and said, "I'm just kidding, Tidus! Of course I'll be your escort!"

"Good!" Tidus said, "Who else could I find on such short notice?"

Yuna found herself walking nervously up to him, and she said, "Are you really back? For all of next year."

"Yes," he said, nodding slowly, and wrapping his arms around her waist, "I'm back. Number thirty-seven is mine again." With that, he pulled her into a kiss.

The door creaked open and Rikku's head stuck in, and she just laughed and said, "Come on Yunie, we'll need to get dresses!"

Tidus and Yuna pulled apart, and Yuna nodded.

"Right," she said, "And you, Tidus, need to go make Gippal make you dinner or something. He's been lost without you."

"Already on it!" Tidus said, patting his stomach, "I swear, no one in Zanarkand cooks like that guy!"

Rikku grabbed Yuna's arm, and she said, "Okay, come on!"

Tidus followed them out, and Yuna couldn't help but look back at him. Was he really back?

The familiar dream-like aspect of everything suddenly hit Yuna as she crawled into Rikku's car, while Tidus crawled into his own.

"So, did we totally surprise you?" Rikku asked.

"How long have you known?" Yuna questioned quickly.

"Only a day," Rikku said, "Tidus called us and said that he was coming back. So we cooked up this plot."

Yuna smiled and sank down in her chair. So it was true? She had an entire year with him… An entire year.

Even though it all seemed like a dream, Yuna realized that perhaps it was a dream. A great dream that she would never end. She just would never wake up.

Closing her eyes dreamily, Yuna let out a sigh. How had things worked out? She decided she wasn't going to think about it. He was hers. Number thirty-seven…He was all hers. That was all there was to it.

--

I started to write this chapter to help me forget about a certain obsession I was seeming to have. That was the obsession with number thirty-seven, the number of a college hockey player who I had fallen in love with. This story is based off of some real events (and some very NOT so real events). It's all twisted though, and everything I've written is pretty much my own characterizations. I'm pretty sure the real number thirty-seven and Tidus aren't all that similar. (Although they kind of in a really odd way look the same...Maybe it's just their hair or something...) Anyway though...it did all start when my dad bought his jersey...

Well, I hope you enjoyed this story! I really enjoyed writing it. Now that hockey is over and this story is over, I don't know what to do with myself! Haha, I'm sure I'll find something...

Again, thank you everybody! I hope this story didn't let you down too much, if at all.


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